Dancing with Wolves
by R4yR4y
Summary: In wartime friends are a rare commodity – as Astrid Hofferson will discover. She'll find distrust in her allies. But also unlikely saviours in her enemies. – A short alternate universe of the treacherous waters of the Atlantic during the second world war.
1. Careless shepherd

_"And once she was in bed she said: What a fine Night! What a good walk! I knew the wolf wouldn't find me!_

 _Oh, but you must travel through those woods again and again . . . said a shadow at the window . . . and you must be lucky to avoid the wolf every time . . ._

 _But the wolf . . . the wolf only needs enough luck to find you once."_

\- Emily Carroll, Through the Woods

* * *

 **Dance Among Wolves**

 **Chapter one, Careless Shepherd**

* * *

The seas are calm as the moon illuminates the sky. A pair of boots walk across the iron plating of the ship's bridge wings. A watch looks out across the sea, occasionally grabbing his binoculars that are hanging from his neck with a leather strap. The man sighs, the air forms a light cloud as it condenses in front of him.

It's cold outside – freezing – so the watch shoots a last glance out over the starboard beam of the ship. The seas are empty. They are the most-starboard ship in a small convoy of four vessels. To their port beam is a tanker, and thirty degrees of their port bow is a freighter. The watch himself is standing on the starboard bridge wing of a bulk carrier – filled with so much iron ore that the load line of the ship is almost sunken below the waterline.

Aftward of them is a third ship, another mercantile vessel sailing under the Red Ensign of the British Empire. An armed merchant carrier, which gives some ease. The captain is an old friend of theirs, a Frenchman by the name of Johann. And it isn't uncommon for them to hear his name fall in harbour towns or ports. They had formed up somewhere off the East-coast of the United Stated. The armed merchant stayed close to the other ships. Ready to defend them at a minute notice.

The watch looks behind and sees the ship, named 'La Chaloupe'. He sighs again, the cloud of cold mist in front of him combined with the numbness of his face and fingers remind him of the freezing temperatures. He turns around and walks towards the door leading to the bridge. With thick gloves he grabs the handle – some ice has formed on it because of condensation – with some effort he pushed the handle down, breaking the ice. The cold winds from outside follow him in, a mixed feeling of the cold on his back, and the warmth of the heated bridge in his face. He quickly closes the door behind him.

"This sucks." The sailor says as he pulls the gloves off his fingers as he flexes the limbs. He tosses the frost-covered gloves on a desk, but keeps the binoculars slung around his neck. He rubs his hands together, and tries to warm them up again. The crew on the bridge look at him, the watch has little snips of ice covering his coat and scarf, and his face is pale. He brings his hands to his mouth and gently breaths warm air into them. He feels pins and needles attack his fingers as warmth slowly returns into them.

"Get some tea, Tuffnut." Their captain, a large old man with a limp in his walk, says as he looks at the watch. The man is a bit bulky, and when you first meet him you won't expect him to be an active captain. The limp in his walk almost deems him unseaworthy, but his experience and light-hearted humour is welcomed by his crew.

"Astrid." The captain says as he turns to the third person manning the bridge. "Take his post, if you would." He commands gently. The young female sailor he commands is sitting on a desk, but quickly get up when she hears the word of the captain. "Yes sir." She says calmly as she walks over to the other watch.

Thomas 'Tuffnut' Thorston, first born son to a carpenter's family in Brooklyn. His almost identical twin sister, Rosanne 'Ruffnut' Thorston is also mustered on the same ship. The two had been inseparable since birth, but never took to the family's carpenter business. They have been going around the city, hopping from job to job in search of something interesting. And had just been between jobs when Gobber's ship entered port.

'Grump' it was called. A large bulk carrier flying British colours – and transporting iron ore to the British Isles. The captain – Gobber the Belch – is an older man, with stories for days and a liver none of the younger crew can compete with.

The ship sways calmly in the water as Tuffnut sheds the thick coat, handing it to the young woman. She calmly takes the binoculars as well. Before she heads out she dresses warmly, the ice still on the scarf is already touching skin in her neck. She walks to the door, grabbing the gloves from the nearby desk before the opens the door. The door opens with a soft creak, and the cold winds strike her face.

She steps outside, closing the door behind her. The freezing winds gently play with some of her loose strands of hair as she stands on the bridge wing. The seas are calm and gentle. She lean on the railing, peering out towards the horizon. The freezing cold doesn't bother her for now. Behind her she can see 'La Chaloupe'. One of its four-inch guns standing on the starboard bow, safely locked for travel.

'La Chaloupe' was a strong ship, and although she is only equipped with obsolete great-war era guns and some basic defensive measures it's the best they got. The firepower should be enough to deter enemy submarines from surface action though. It is crewed by able men, or so she had heard.

Young Astrid Hofferson had always been fond of the sea. Her parents never had much care for it, but her uncle Finn had. The man had served on mercantile ships during the great war, and during the interwar period often came over to take little Astrid sailing. When the United Kingdom declared war on Nazi-Germany Finn returned to a world of shipping he knew best. The unarmed mercantile fleet against the German submarines – the 'u-boot' fleet.

His ship – the 'Hofferson' – had embarked on a journey from Alexandria towards England, but had never arrived in Plymouth as it was meant to. Astrid had vowed to find out what happened to her uncle. Which has lead her towards the armed merchant which had accompanied the 'Hofferson' on her final voyage, 'La Chaloupe'.

Gobber knows her captain, a keen but curious trader. He hailed from France, choosing to sail under the royal navy during the first wold war. The trader is known to scare off submarines during their attacks. Often saving large parts of the convoys. She hopes they won't need his defensive capabilities on this journey.

The door opens behind her, and a voice calls out for her. "Astrid, come back in." Gobber says calmly. "Thorston brought a whole kettle." She smiles, turning around and heading inside the warm bridge.

Meanwhile – almost 200 miles east of their position – a lonesome hunter makes his way through the cold waters of the Atlantic.

* * *

The soft movements of the ship feel calming as he lays in his bunk. The gentle rolling and heaving of the ship always manages to ease his nerves, and make him forget about the worries of war. Not that they have much to fear, they are considered unstoppable. They are the fear of the allied fleets and convoys.

He hears the creaks from the boats hull, some gentle, some stronger. Next to him he can hear a soft drip, rhythmic, almost like a clock ticking away every second. He digs in his pocket, and pulls the old watch of his father out. He flips it open and looks at the time, fifteen minutes are left until it is eleven 'o' clock. He should try to get some sleep. He closes the watch and stuffs it back in his pocket. He turns in his bunk.

It is hot in the submarine, probably twenty-six or twenty-seven degrees. His bed is sweaty and the fabric clings to his bare back. The heat isn't strange. The sea is gentle enough for them to keep the bulkheads between the compartments open, as well as the top hatch. But the freezing winds outside prove no match for the diesel engines of the submarine.

He can hear the engines roar in the back of the submarine. The sound vibrating through the walls and halls of the boat. He can hear chatting in the radio room, mixed with the soft static of some of the equipment. He tries to focus on something else, his ears lending to the rhythmic drip again.

He turns around in his bed for the second time this minute, and realises that he's not going to get any sleep. As he turns to sit upright on his bed someone knocks on the wall besides the curtain that separates his room from the rest of the submarine. "Captain Haddock?" A voice calls from the other side. Hiccup looks up. "Come in." He says loud enough for the person on the other side to hear. The curtains are pushed to the side and Hiccup's first watch officer is standing in the opening.

Ernhardt Eretson – known to most of the crew by his nickname 'Eret' – looks at his captain. "Slept well sir?" He asks politely. Hiccup looks at the officer. Sweat gleams on his forehead as well.

"I hardly slept." Hiccup answers honestly as he looks at the table next to him, where a small piece of bread calmly waits. Hiccup grabs it, and a knife that lays besides it. He looks up at Eret again. "But to what do I owe the visit?" He jokingly says.

"This." His first watch officer says simply as he hands a folded piece of paper over to Hiccup. "Another message from our friend."

Hiccup doesn't break eye contact with his first watch as he puts the bread and knife in his lap and takes the paper. He calmly unfolds it, letting his eyes drop to the message that had quickly been scribbled down by their radiomen. It started simply enough. ' _Dear Friend,_ ' it read in English. It was an opening to a message Hiccup has all too often seen. The true messages starts underneath that, but it seems garbled, encoded.

"You know the drill" Hiccup says as he folds the paper again. He opens a drawer under the table, grabbing a notebook from it. "Get the machine." He places the notebook and the paper on the small table to his left.

"Yes sir." Eret says as he walks off towards the radio room. The 'machine' Hiccup is referencing was the Kriegsmarine's M3 Enigma machine. They usually store it in the radio room, but for these messages Hiccup insists on using it himself and in private.

He looks at the bread in his lap and picks it up again. As he breaks it in half he notices a large chunk of mould sitting in the middle of the piece of loaf. "Dammit." He softly mutters as he digs his knife into the stale bread. As he does, the bosun – Stefan 'Snotlout' Jorgenson – walks through the corridor. He looks at his nephew, and the mouldy bread in his hands.

"How lucky we are to have so much green on board, aren't we captain?" He jokes with a friendly grin as he walks towards the front of the ship. Hiccup hears him chuckling softly as he walks down the hallway. Hiccup sighs softly, Snotlout was a blessing and a curse. He can be terrible – hell, he was insufferable when they were younger – but once he matured he changed. Now he can lift the spirit of the crew even in some of the most dire scenarios.

He stands up, tossing the mouldy part of the bread on the table. He grabs the notebook and the paper and steps towards the radio room. It is right across from his quarters, so with two short steps he enters the open area. It is filled with various equipment, most of it is their main radio. Eret is already leaning against the side of the opening. The radioman looks up from his work and greets Hiccup.

"Evening, captian." The young man said as he stands up. He is the one who received the message, and all the radio personnel know the drill. He squeezes past Hiccup, heading through the bulkhead towards the crew quarters at the aft of the ship. Eret looks at Hiccup, and motions to the empty seat.

"All yours." He says as he leans back against the wall. Keeping an eye out through the hallway. Hiccup sits down in the seat, opening the box with the Enigma's rotors. He glances at the rotors in the box. Rotors two, five, six and seven sit idly in the box. He opens the cover of the enigma machine, inside rotors one, three and four are visible. Hiccup calmly places his notebook in-between the rotor box and the enigma machine and flips it open.

He first flips through the filled pages until he reaches a blank one. "Date?" He asks as he flips open his watch again.

"31 December, 1941." Eret says calmly. "New Year's Eve at sea." He mutters softly.

Hiccup sighs, scribbling down the date and checking his watch for the time. "Well, maybe we can create some fireworks." He says as he unfolds the piece of paper. Copying the message, including the encoded part neatly in the book. The encoded part neatly shown, separated in groups of 5 letters in rows and columns.

"Shall I prepare the machine?" Eret asks as he hears the soft scribble of pencil on paper.

"No thanks." Hiccup says as he finishes copying. "I'm almost done." He adds as he finished the note. He flips back to the front of the book. Finding his notes about the Enigma's settings. "Wheels, two, three and one." He mutters softly. Taking the existing rotors from the machine and switching them with the proper ones.

"Starts B, F and Q." Eret adds behind him, still watching out through the hall as he hears the clicking from the rotors behind him. From the fore torpedo room, a sailor comes walking, heading towards the crew quarters at the aft of the submarine. Eret shoots him a gentle glance. "Just a couple minutes." He calls out. The sailor freezes in his step, apologises and turns around.

Eret looks at Hiccup, who is fiddling with the plugs of the Enigma's plugboard. The young captain keeps glancing at his notes, connecting the letters with the simple two pin plugs. "There." He says as he closes the casing of the machine. "All set."

Hiccup closes the case with rotors and places it on the ground next to him. He grabs his pencil again and starts to decode the message. He looks at the first letter, and presses down on the corresponding key of the machine's keyboard. A letter on the lampboard lights up, a different one from the key he pressed.

He writes it down and continues, using the same 5 letter groups as the encoded message. It's a tedious process, pressing every single key and writing down the corresponding letter that lights up. But after the years in service Hiccup is getting better and better at it.

"Do you think we'll ever meet this friend of ours." Eret asks while Hiccup still decodes the message. "You know, have a chat, a beer in a café in Hamburg or Kiel."

"Wine in Lorient." Hiccup jokes as he types the next letter into the machine, the turning of the rotors softly hearable. "Chardonnay in Brest." He adds with a smile.

"Who knows." Eret says with a grin. "Perhaps tea in London."

Hiccup looks at his first watch officer with a grin. "Who knows indeed." He says as he types the final letter. He looks at the message he got. It still looks unrecognisable, all letters sorted in groups of five. He twists the pencil between his fingers, and starts putting small lines between the letters to make words.

"Come look." He motions to Eret as he clears up the message. The officer turns around and looks over his shoulder, Hiccup has already finished the first two rows of letters.

"Convoy," Eret mutters as he reads. "four ships, a tanker!" He says with excitement. Tankers are great for morale. They can burn for hours, and crew often enjoy the sights.

"One armed merchant." Hiccup says as he continues drawing the lines between the letters. "As usual."

"And they are," Eret begins as he scans the document further. "About 180 miles due west."

"Really?" Hiccup asks as he raises his eyebrow.

"Yes." Eret confirms. "We did some astronomy during twilight." He explains. "We have a pretty good position."

"Pass the word." He says as he closes his notebook and grabs the box with rotors again. He calmly removes all the rotors from the machine, and unplugs all the plugs from the plugboard. The machine was completely reset. No trace of their message left. "I'll set a course."

"Yes sir." Eret said with a grin, walking off towards the command room of the submarine.

* * *

She should not have drunk that tea.

Astrid is determined to prove herself to Gobber. To prove that she is as good as a sailor as any men he'll ever have on board his ship. But she has to admit that the long watches at knight make her sleepy.

And the tea hasn't helped. It is some kind of herbal mixture that one of those twins has brought along. The kettle still stands on the chart table, half-filled and cold. She and Gobber both took one cup, she managed to finish hers, but Gobber had walked outside to toss it over the railing of the ship.

What she would give for some coffee right about now. But coffee is in limited supply these days, making it expensive. She sighs, slides off the desk she sat on and walks towards the wheel of the ship. She had placed her binoculars next to it, so she grabs them again. Putting them to her eyes she scans out across the horizon, she doesn't know what she's looking for.

She hears Gobber's whistle as he comes up the stairs, he has a slight limp in his step and always taps a large ring on his finger against the railing. It's what the twins use to make sure they are decent when they are either playing cards or otherwise slacking on the job.

"Astrid!" The old captain calls as he reaches to top of the stairs. "Did ya finish that bile?"

"No, I thought I'd leave some for you." Astrid retorts with a grin as she placed continues to scan the seas. "Maybe 'random weeds tea' is good for you."

"Clever little git." Gobber mutters with a grin as he walks towards the kettle standing on the chart table. "Could you be a dear and make some proper tea?" The captain asks as he sits down on his chair. "I think that if I go down those stairs one more time I might not get back up." He adds with a chuckle as he raises his legs and leans them on the nearby desk.

"Sure thing Gobber," Astrid said as she grabs the kettle and walks towards the stairs.

"Be sure to clean it out good." Gobber yells after her. "I don't want those weeds to leave a taste in our only kettle."

"Will do!" Astrid shouts from the bottom of the stairs, before disappearing through a door. Now it is Gobber's turn to sigh, he lowers his aching legs from the table and rests his hand in his lap, it twitches with unrest – at least that's what he calls it.

The Parkinson's is always worse when he's nervous, and he hates it. It shows fear, it shows weakness, two things he had expected to leave behind him after his time in the Royal Navy during the great war.

But here it is again, the twitching, the achingly irritating pulling of those blasted muscles. He'd chop off the damn hand if he didn't need it for other things. He is glad that he manages to supress it enough when his crew is nearby. He figures some already see him as old, they don't need an image of sickness.

He breaths calmly, resting a bit. After almost twenty-five years it still feels unnatural to rest with this weather. Calm seas, clear skies. He knows what that means, and he knows what it's like on the other side.

"Cold?" A voice asks and he turn around started. Astrid is standing in the opening with a steaming kettle of tea in her hand.

"Yea." Gobber lies as he feels the twitching stop. Staying strong for the crew, that was what he did. "Is it black?"

"This tea is blacker then the night itself." Astrid jokes as she places the kettle down on a desk.

"Remind me to stock up on milk in the next port." Gobber says with a smile as he looks at Astrid. The young female sailor pours two cups, handing one over to the captain. "Thanks." Gobber says politely.

They sit calmly, both holding their tea with both hands to keep them warm. The tea is a very dark colour, probably the closest they could get to coffee right about now. Gobber is the first to take a sip, a small one, since the tea is still scolding. He feels how strong it is, the hot liquid travelling down his throat. He winces slightly, the hot water left a numb yet burning sensation, and his throat feels dryer than a Sahara riverbed.

"Good tea." He says calmly as he peers out to sea. The small and gentle waves are travelling in their own direction next to the ship, following their own course on their own adventure. He sighs as his eyes dart across the horizon. For all that was starting to go wrong with his body, his eyes were still in good shape, at least for spotting ships. Reading was a whole different thing.

He hisses as he feels hot tea spill over his hands. His left hand has started twitching again. He calmly stands up from the seat, Astrid walking over with a piece of cloth.

"Careful." She says gently. "As you may have noticed, it's quite hot."

"Yea, quite." Gobber simply responds as he lets Astrid clean some of the tea from his hands. His shirt and pants are already rather stained, so she doesn't bother with them. He takes the cloth from Astrid to dry the cup itself, his left hand still twitching slightly, making it difficult.

"Still cold? Or just nervous?" Astrid asks as she walks back to the desk she was sitting on. She sits down gently and looks at the old captain.

"Heh, nervous." The captain says as he places the cup down and the cloth next to it. "I don't like this weather."

"Too cold?" Astrid asked as he held the tea to her face, blowing over the surface of the liquid in her cup.

"Too ideal." Gobber explains to her. "How much did I tell about my time in the navy?" He asks he grabs his left wrist to keep the hand in control.

"This and that." Astrid replies as she tries to take a sip, the tea was still to hot for her liking. "Destroyer, was it?"

"Submarine." Gobber says with a stern expression. "But perhaps I never told the details." He adds with a sigh as he looks out the window.

"This is the weather that was good for us." He explains. "Flat seas, large open areas." He adds. "Everywhere to hide and every angle to attack from."

Astrid stays silent, blowing over her tea to cool it down.

"It's probably just a feeling." Gobber explains. "But best to keep a keen eye out tonight."

Astrid takes a sip from her tea, it was starting to become drinkable. She places the cup on the desk and grabs a set of binoculars. Calmly, she scans the dark surface of the water, the horizon between sea and sky becoming difficult to see.

Meanwhile, half a mile away, a periscope pierces the surface.

* * *

" _Careless shepherd make excellent dinner for wolf._ "

\- Earl Derr Biggers

 **AN:**

 **Okay, so I am probably not going to update this story super often, since I mainly want to work on my other one. But since I'm also motivated for this, and a small story on the side is probably smart, I'll do it anyway. I made the deal with myself that I first write on the large one, and then this one.**

 **This chapter is mainly there to set the mood and scene for the story. The writing of this has been very choppy and with large intervals. So, there may be some errors in there. If you find any, do say so, then I can correct them. :P**

 **If you like the story please do tell. I'm not sure how well a WWII au will be received, especially one like this. Any other questions, do ask. I always love to interact with writers.**

 **Rating: T (Violence in later chapters)**

 **Take care!**

 **\- R4y**


	2. Among wolves

**Dance Among Wolves**

 **Chapter two, Among wolves**

* * *

The seas are calm and flat. Gentle waves lull by from one side to the other, and the occasional one splashes against the optics, blurring his vision before the gentle winds sweep the drops away. He turns around the large pole, his eyes glues to the visor as he scans the surface of the sea.

"Man on bridge?" A voice calls from below. He recognises it. Eret must be growing impatient with him loitering around up here.

"Come up." Hiccup replies calmly as he turns again, focussing his vision on his target. The ships are difficult to spot in the dark weather, luckily their ally had helped them to identify them. "There you are." Hiccup mutters softly.

Behind him he can hear the sound of footsteps on a metal ladder, and soon he feels the gaze of eyes on his back. "You found them?" Eret asks curiously. "The men are all ready and waiting, sir."

"Excellent, good job." Hiccup says as he switching the zoom level on the optics. "Lead ship is bearing three – four – seven." He says calmly as he observes the small convoy. He spins around calmly one last time, making sure to check everywhere for possible ships. "Sonar?" He asks.

"Only noise are the ships in front." Eret answers calmly.

Hiccup closes the handles of the periscope and pulls it down, the optical mast retracting into the tower of the submarine. "Surface, deck awash." He orders as he stands up, waiting for Eret to disappear down the ladder before following him.

"Deck awash!" He hears the Navigator repeat, the young son of a fisherman called Freddie Ingermann. "Depth: six metres." He calls out. He was known around the ship as Fishlegs, since even as the son of a fishermen he wasn't the best in terms of seaworthiness.

As Hiccup reaches the bottom of the ladder he quickly steps aside so the two watchmen can occupy the tower, waiting for the signal to open the top hatch. Eret tries to follow them, but is halted by Hiccup. "I want solutions for the first three targets, front, port and starboard." He says. "I'll send a crew for the deck gun in a moment."

"Aye, sir." Eret said as he climbed the ladder again, joining the two waiting watchmen.

"Throk!" Hiccup calls out from the bottom of the ladder. A proud man in a pristine uniform soon came through the bulkhead into the command room. He his head had been shaved at one time, but now the side of this head features small hears, with longer, swept-back hairs covering the top.

"Yes sir?" He asks with his deep voice as he salutes. Throk Reiter, his second watch officer was the picture of an officer the propaganda machine killed for. Proud, tall, and spirited. If wars could be won with just morale and willpower, Throk would be the most feared of them all.

"We'll surface in a moment fully in a moment." Hiccup explains. "As soon as the first torpedo detonates I want you to hit any of the front three ships."

"Only the front three sir?" Throk asks for confirmation.

"Yes." He says as he takes a step closer to him, lowering his voice. "The last ship is an armed merchant." He explains softly. "Don't hit him, and he won't hit us."

Throk nods. "As always sir." He says as he stands proud again. "I'll have the men ready to fire and pass ammo upwards."

"Good." Hiccup simply says as he turns to his quarters. "I'll be with you in a second."

As he climbs through the bulkhead he hears Fishlegs call out behind him. "Depth six metres!" The sound of the crew reacting and getting ready can be heard clearly over the soft noise of the electronic engines running in the aft of the submarine.

He steps into his room, dressing himself in the rest of his uniform. He usually only sleeps in his pants and shirt, so he grabs his coat to shield himself against the cold outside. He swings a pair of binoculars around his neck, and makes sure his woollen gloves are in his pocket. Being captain definitely came with some perks. Finally, he grabs his cap, and heads towards the bridge.

At the helm the men appear ready, the navigator is calmly ordering the helmsmen to keep the boat steady and level as they slowly approach their targets. Hiccup walks through calmly, and stands near the ladder. Looking upwards he sees the opening is clear, and the dark night sky is visible through the open hatches. He looks around again, making sure everything in the command room is in order before putting on his woollen gloves and climbing up the ladder.

Three seamen are waiting in the conning tower, probably ones Throk has picked to man the guns. It is a tight fit, but the men don't seem to mind. They appear eager for battle. He continues up the second ladder, exciting trough the hatch out on the conning tower. The cold wind batters against any exposed skin, and Hiccup feels his breath hitch at the sudden change of temperature.

He exhales, the hot and moist air from his lungs forming a cloud of mist in front of him, which is quickly taken by the winds. He sees Eret peering through the fixed binoculars. "How is it going?" Hiccup asks as he takes his binoculars and finds the convoy again.

"All is well." Eret says as he looks up from the binoculars. "They are about five miles out."

"Can you hit them from here?" Hiccup asks as he looks at Eret.

Eret thinks about it for a second. "Probably." He says. "We have ato's in tube one and three." He explains. "If we sail perpendicular and at their speed I can almost guarantee a hit."

"You think they won't spot the steam in this calm weather?" Hiccup asks as he looks in the directions of the convoy. "A trained crew might spot them."

"May I suggest closing to two miles." Eret suggests. "We can launch them at their highest speed, and they'll have enough fuel to reach them."

"Pass the word." Hiccup says as he looks at Eret. The officer walks towards the talk tubes. "Rudder hard port, make course zero – six – zero." He calls down the tube towards the engine room. "Full speed ahead."

"Surface the boat." Hiccup says as to Eret when he finished the order. Eret quickly copies it and yells it down the tube before closing the lid. Hiccup waits until Eret's finished. "It'll give us the bit of extra speed."

"We estimated their speed at ten knots." Eret explains as they feel the boat shift its course. Hiccup walks towards the front of the tower, watching as the bow of the ship pierces the surface and the water washes away from the deck.

Behind them they hear the gun crew climb up the ladder. One immediately manned the two-centimetre anti-aircraft gun, while the other two climb down the ladders on the side of the conning tower. They quickly man the 8.8-centimetre deck gun in front of the tower, unlocking the storage for shells in the deck.

The crew appears ready, and the ship is quickly closing the distance with the small. On the deck the crew is already waiting in position next to the gun, and it is turned towards the convoy, zeroing in for the first shot. The loader is kneeled next to the breech, a large shell already in hand. He turns to Eret and Throk. "Fire when ready." He says.

"Aye, sir." Eret and Throk reply in unison, Throk saluting as he does so. Hiccup steps back, leaning against the railing as they approach the ship. Eret peers through the attack binoculars again, finishing the solution on the ships. Hiccup grabs his binoculars and peers through them, waiting for the attack to start.

"Tube one." Eret speak aloud, turning the dials on the aiming mechanism, relaying the information to the forward torpedo room. "Depth: four; speed: forty." He says as he steps back. "Loss." He says, and Hiccup hears the signature puff of compressed air as the torpedo launches out of one of the forward tubes. Eret turns to Hiccup. "Three minutes sir."

"Good, continue." He says as he flips open his watch, keeping track of the longest hand that indicates seconds.

The officer immediately continues with the second solution, aiming the binoculars at the bulk carrier at the starboard side of the convoy. "Tube three." He calls out, finishing the solution. "Depth: four; speed: forty." He repeats, setting the torpedo one metre deeper then the last one. "Loss!" He calls out.

The compressed air hisses, but the torpedo fails to exit the tube. Over the talk tube Eret hears the crew in the forward torpedo room. "Failure to launch sir!"

"Prepare tube two, same set." The officer says as he looks through the binoculars again, adjusting the solution.

"Tube two, ready." A man calls out over the talk tubes. Eret listens, turning the dials a bit to finish the changed angle of attack.

"Loss." He calls out, and this time the torpedo fires properly. It springs out one of the forward tubes, landing in the water and starts making its way towards the convoy.

"Three minutes, sir." Eret says again. Indicating the time to target.

Hiccup feels his hair rise in his neck as he looks through the binoculars, the attack has begun.

* * *

It is calm on the bridge, but Astrid still feels extremely tense. Something about Gobber ticked her off, the way he spoke about the weather. She can't let it rest.

The old captain is calmly resting in his chair, his feet raised to lean on the desk. His blonde hair does its best to cover his balding head, but it is not to be. He usually carries an old captain hat to cover it up, but that hat was currently covering his face as he rested.

"Not sleeping yet, are you?" Astrid asks from the desk she was sitting on. They have run through their third kettle of tea. They are approaching midnight, approaching the new year.

One hand raises the cap as he turns his head towards Astrid. "On New Year's Eve?" He says as he stretches. "Wouldn't dream of it."

"Good." Astrid says with a smile. "Celebrating it away from home is new to start," She jokes. "Wouldn't want to celebrate alone too."

"Don't you worry about that." Gobber says as he sits upright in the chair. "I'm sure we can make a feast out of it yet."

They hear the door open downstairs, and two sets of feet scurry up the stairs. They both turn their heads, finding the twins at the top of the stairs.

"Hey, Gobber." Tuffnut begins with excitement, earning an elbow into his ribs from his sister. Shutting him up.

"Most pristine master and guardian of our vessel." Ruffnut begins. The young woman is covered in grease and smudges of oils. "Sir the Belch."

Gobber sighs. "What do you guys want now?" He says with a blank expression.

Ruffnut appears to be taken aback by his sudden response, but quickly continues in a less dramatic tone. "Well, captain." She says. "We thought it would be fun to release some signal flares." She explains.

"Yea!" Her brother chimes in. "For the new year and stuff." She explains with excited waving of his hands. "To ward off evil spirits and ghosts and stuff."

"Or evil Germans!" Ruffnut adds with a laugh. Astrid watches as Gobber's expression falls.

"Oh, mutti, there are ze fireworks." Tuffnut says in a mock German accent. "Look out, now we need to flee."

Ruffnut quickly joins in on the fun, keeping two fingers under her nose to imitate the leader of Germany. "Oi, get back to ze war now!" She yells in between laughter. "I need more of ze land of the Europa to compensate."

Astrid watches the comical display of the two twins, but Gobber finds it less amusing. "Alright." He says grumpily, climbing out of his chair. "Both of you, on watch, now!" He says. "If you really think you can scare off Germans you may as well start with keeping an eye out for them."

"What?" Ruffnut responds while Tuffnut is still impersonating a soldier marching with a stretched-out arm. "But it's pitch black out there, we can't see shit!"

"Then look closer to the boat, for torpedoes." He says as he walks to Tuffnut to shove him towards the door. Luckily the two had put on their coats because they were planning to go outside to light off flares.

"What does a torpedo even look like?" Ruffnut asks as she walks towards the door, knowing that she wouldn't win an argument against the captain.

"Large metal fishes." Tuffnut answers, earning a smack to the back of the head from Gobber.

"If you're lucky, a trail of bubbles and a soft wake followed by an explosion." He says sternly, noticing how the twins' eyes light up when they heard explosion. "If you're unfortunate, just a soft wake, but still the explosion."

"Okay and if we see that?" Ruffnut asks.

"You immediately sound alarm and say where it is." Gobber says as he opens the door and pushed the two outside. "Preferably before the explosion part!" He adds, and slams the door shut.

The twins look at each other, and then out to see. The door behind them opens again. "And if I see any flare in the sky I'm cutting your pay in half." He says as he closes the door again.

Gobber takes a couple of deep breaths as he lets his hand go of the handle. He calmly walks back towards his chair, but keeps his feet on the ground this time. "Nervous again?" Astrid asks. Gobber looks at the young woman, following her hand towards his own. It was twitching again.

"Yea." The old captain says with a pained smile as he chuckles. "Guess their ghost stories scared me."

"Perhaps." Astrid says as she turns to look outside. The twins are calmly watching the sea, surprisingly enough. They do seem to be cracking jokes though, since they occasionally appear to laugh.

"And so the fourth nun steps in, and saint peter is like, who, why did you cut in line?" Tuffnut explains to his sister. "And then that nun said, because I'd like to wash my mouth before she washes her ass in it." He finishes, laughing at the jokes with his sister.

"Oh god." Ruffnut wheezes as she laughs. "I got to remember that one, that's rancid."

"Sure is." Tuffnut says as he feels tears form of the laughing, he quickly wipes them away, since he'd rather not have frozen tears on his face. He turns to the railing again. "So, what were we looking for again?"

"Torpedoes." Ruffnut says as she calms down from the laughter. "Bubble then boom-boom's."

"Ooh, I like that." Tuffnut responds. "And the other one can be, eerm." He thinks as he tries to think of a clever name. "No bubble then boom-boom's?"

"Only a 'wake me up'?" Ruffnut chimes in with a pun about the torpedoes without the bubble trail, earning a laugh from her brother again.

"That's a good one." He says before turning to the door. "I'm going to grab binoculars, want some?"

"Sure." Ruffnut says as he turns to the sea again, scanning the surface with her eyes.

"Alright." Tuffnut says as he opens the door. He is immediately faced with a stern look from Gobber.

"I'm just grabbing some binoculars." Tuffnut says carefully, walking over the bridge as if walking between glass on bare feet. "I'll be out before you kno-" He starts, but is interrupted by his yelling sister.

"Bubbles of the starboard bow!" She yells as she stands in the opening of the door. "Over there." She adds as she points. Astrid immediately jumps off the table, and Gobber quickly rises from his chair, dashing towards the rudder.

"Where is it now?" He yells as Ruffnut walks to the railing again, keeping the door open for communication. Astrid feels the cold winds enter the bridge, but it doesn't faze her. Her blood is racing through her veins and she feel alerted. She grabs a pair of binoculars and rushes outside to spot.

"I don't see it!" Ruffnut yells as she scans the water. Astrid and Tuffnut joining by her side. The waves seem less calm now, they only seem treacherous and dangerously empty. "Where did it go?" She asks the other two, but they are as clueless as her.

Until they hear an explosion in to their left. The three of them turn around, only to a large spray of misty water fly up against the side of the freighter in front. They can see the water sprays around the area of impact, and the ship itself rocks in the water.

Gobber pulls the wheel hard to starboard, he'd prefer to steer to port but he'd risk hitting the tanker. The large rudder of the ship responds slowly, and the ship soon starts to turn to port, listing heavily as it starts the sharp turn.

"Stop gawking and spot!" Gobber yells as he notices the three crew which are still looking at the explosion of the freighter. The twins suddenly have a lot less shine in their eyes at the thought of explosions.

The three quickly turn their eyes back to the water. "Astrid! The light!" He yells as he flips a switch. The two searchlights on the bridge wings come to life, the light visible behind the shutters. The fague sound of the general alarm of the stricken freighter reminds Gobber of his own, and he quickly turn on the ear shattering steam alarm of the ship.

A multitude of sirens fill the air as Astrid franticly scans the surface of the water with the searchlight. The waves reflect the light, and it is difficult to differentiate anything from where she is standing.

As the ship continues the turn Astrid and Ruffnut switch to the port side of the ship, realising that they passed the original bearing of the attack. Astrid quickly mans the other searchlight while Ruffnut scans with her eyes.

"There!" Ruffnut yells again as she points at the water, Astrid turns the light to follow her gaze and finds the quickly moving wake of bubbles.

"Keep the turn!" Astrid yells to Gobber, and the captain kept pressure on the wheel.

"Tuffnut!" Gobber yells. "Follow it with the searchlight for the others." He yells. The other ships start sounding alarms and alerting their crews as well. And the spotlights of the tanker and 'La Chaloupe' ignite too, and start scanning the water.

Astrid continued to scan the water as Tuffnut searches for the torpedo. He found it quickly, but not quickly enough as he realised where it was currently heading. He trails the torpedo with his searchlight, and he can see the large tanker start to turn, but it isn't quick enough. As the bubbles close with the ship he can see some of the crew run away from where it will strike. But it appears to be futile.

A fireball engulfs the ship, and a mixture of black smoke and yellow flames explode into the sky, illuminating the convoy for seconds. He can feel the heat on his face and the bright light stings in his eyes. It is a fantastically morbid display of power and danger. He can spot crew jumping out from the fire, landing in the freezing water. Most disappear beneath the ominous waves. Their screams masked by the roaring fire of the ship.

It takes a piece of debris to land next to him to make him realise he should seek cover.

Astrid hears the explosion behind her, but doesn't react to it. The heat in her neck is enough for her to know it is big, and the sound of the battle clouds her mind. She continues to scan the surface of the water for more torpedoes, until a small flash in the distance catches here attention.

An object whizzes past the ship, probably a few metres above her. And she instinctively takes cover. "They're firing at us!" She yells to Gobber, who is steering the ship evasively, preventing the enemy from predicting their course.

Gobber looks behind him and notices that the searchlights of 'La Chaloupe' are also scanning the waters directly around it. He curses under his breath, he understood the need for their own safety. But the armed merchant carrier couldn't fire at the enemy unless the searchlight illuminated it for him.

"Astrid!" Gobber yells as he walks towards the door, making eye contact with the young woman. She looks startled, but not scared. And the Gobber's calm expression seems to help het keep calm. "Illuminate the target for 'La Chaloupe'!"

"Aye!" Astrid says as she peers out to sea. After a while she can see another flash, and water splashes up half a yard in front of the ship. She manages to find the target. In the distance she can see the small profile of the ship, a low swept silhouette with a cannon in front of a small tower. A submarine.

Gobber looks to port, seeing the illuminated target. He recognises the silhouette in an instant. "Tuffnut!" He yells out again, running across the bridge and giving the rudder another swing to keep evading. As he passes the telegraph he pushes it all the way forward. The telegraph doesn't go that far, and the indicator now points at a blank spot beyond full ahead. He hopes his crew in the engine room understood that he expects the full power the ship has to offer. He continues to the other door, seeing Tuffnut wait for orders.

"Signal 'La Chaloupe'!" He yells. "Astrid's got him illuminated for them."

Tuffnut doesn't appear the brightest or quickest of the crew, but he did now his signs. He quickly shifts the light to shine towards the armed merchant ship, and uses the shutter to signal a quick message.

"Long; short – long; short – long – short" He mutters as he signals the first part of the message. It is simple enough 'target sighted' he sends. The crew doesn't seem to respond immediately, so he quickly repeats the message until they do. After a wile he sees one of the ship's spotlights light up.

"Long – long – long;" He mutters as the ship signals its response. "long – short – long." He continues. The message repeats, and he understands as he spots the small guns on the ship start to bear on the illuminated target.

"They got them!" Tuffnut yells before understanding how the message could be misinterpreted. "In sight at least."

His message is confirmed by the first gun of the 'La Chaloupe' opening fire. It is off by a mile, but it should at least scare the submarine. It is probably one of the smaller three-inch guns, but the larger six-inch guns soon join in. Flinging shell after shell in the direction of the submarine.

* * *

Hiccup keeps track of the time anxiously. The long hand of his pocket watch ticks away second after second. Two minutes have passed already, and the convoy hasn't been alarmed yet. He turns to Eret. "Get them to clear out tube two." He says to his second in command. "Tell them to ditch the 'ato' if they have to."

"Yes, sir." Eret says as he steps toward the talk tube again. Proceeding to calmly explain the situation to the crew in the forward torpedo room. Hiccup peers through his binoculars before looking at his watch again, only a couple seconds remaining.

"Five, four, three" He begins to count. "two, one, and." He looks at the convoy two miles from them, and after a few seconds an explosion rocks the lead ship. "Bingo."

"Torpedo one, hit!" Eret calls out formally. On the deck below them Throk is instructing his gunmen. Hiccup looks to through the binoculars, seeing the bulk carrier start to turn towards them.

"Hold fire!" He orders and Throk relays the order to his men. They had loaded the shell and were waiting to fire.

"It might evade the torpedo." Hiccup says as he can faintly hear the chaos in the distance. "Let's wait and see." He says as he starts to hear the heavy steam sirens go loud in the distance. The spotlights turn on, and the convoy scans the surface of the water to their starboard side.

"Look!" Eret says as he sees the spotlight fixed on a spot on the water, approaching the bow of the bulk carrier. "They spotted it."

"Impressive." Hiccup admits. "And looks like they'll evade it."

Eret watches as the illuminated spot on the water is traced towards the bow of the ship, the spotlight fails to follow it, but there is no explosion.

"Torpedo three, miss." Eret acknowledges. As he looks through his binoculars. But his eyes are blinded by a large fireball near the convoy.

Eret finds himself laughing morbidly. "It hit the other ship!" He yells. "It hit the tanker!"

The captain walks towards the railing, looking at Throk. "Open fire!" He yells. "Sink me that bulk carrier."

"Aye sir!" Throk says with a salute as he turns to the crew. "Open fire, closest target."

The gun crew fires, the shot flying out towards the convoy. It flies over the top of the Bulk carrier, which is manoeuvring heavily.

"Drop two-hundred." Throk says as he observes the fall of shot with his binoculars. The crew load another round, and a second shot flies out, falling short. Throk observes the fall. "Raise hundred." He says, but then he gets blinded by the bulk carrier's searchlight.

"We've been spotted!" One of his men yells as the light illuminates the ship. The cannon fires again, the shot flying just a metre too high this time. It doesn't take long for the armed merchant ship to open fire on them. A shot rings overhead as some of his younger crew take cover. Hiccup hold on to the railing and watches as more shells come their way.

A fusillade of fire is coming their way, but all of the shots either fall short or fly high. He looks around, resting his hand on the shoulder of one of the cowering crew. "Those tommies are too worried about evading then actually hitting us." He says with a calm smile, reassuring the young sailor. "Stand your ground."

"Aye sir." The young boy, perhaps eighteen or nineteen, says as he stands up. "Sorry sir."

Hiccup smiles at the seaman as he grabs his binoculars to watch the onslaught. Another shot rings out, and he can see a flash from the merchant carrier. He can hear Throk call out from the deck below. "Hit!" He yells as the crew quickly load another round. They had the exact range now, and the shots were landing consistently.

He can see the searchlights flicker on the ship, and the port light seems to die out. The shells must have hit electronics. He peers through is binoculars, multiple holes are visible in the side of the ship, but the largest one is right on the waterline. It appears to tear open one of the compartments of the ship, but he can't see for sure.

"Aim for the aft." He calls out to Throk, who relays the information to the gunners. The next shot that rang out hits underneath the bridge, and Hiccup sees flames coming out of the smokestack of the vessel.

He scans the convoy. The foremost ship is breaking in half, the middle part already disappearing below the waves. The tanker is engulfed in flames, illuminating the sky and the convoy, and the bulk carrier is listing heavily, fire coming from the smokestacks.

"Prepare to dive." Hiccup orders as the shots from the armed merchant continue to fly past. He grabs his binoculars to look at it, spotting the captain of the armed ship doing the same from his bridge wing. He salutes casually, and the captain does the same. He waits for the gun crew and watches to disappear below the deck. The shells from the armed carrier are still flying past, but they are even further off now that the spotlight illuminating them is gone.

Eret looks at him from the opening of the hatch. Hiccup looks at him. "Take us down." He says. "Periscope depth." He says. Eret confirms before climbing down the ladder. Hiccup feels the movement of the vessel as the bow dips down. The guns are locked for travel again and the shells are stowed. He climbs down the ladder and closes the hatch.

The submarine disappears below the waves.

* * *

 _"If you live among wolves, you have to act like a wolf."_

\- Nikita Khrushchev

* * *

 **AN:**

 **Well, this chapter was supposed to have another part in it as well. But I figured it was getting kinda long. Glad to see people are enjoying it. I wasn't sure how it would be received, especially with Hiccup being on the German side.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and I look forward to writing more. :P**

 **Take care!**

 **-** **R4y**


	3. To talk peace with a wolf

**Dance Among Wolves**

 **Chapter three, To talk peace with a wolf**

* * *

The entire ship rocks as it is hit by one of the shells. Astrid hangs on to the searchlight as the shock of the explosion vibrates through the ship. She manages to regain her footing, and manages to keep the light fixed on the submarine in the distance, but it didn't matter. The light starts to flicker and soon died.

"We've been hit!" Someone calls out as Astrid runs to the bridge, with the spotlight out there wasn't much she could do there.

On the bridge she can see Gobber lying next to the rudder, she rushes over to him. The large man is luckily still conscious. "Gobber?" She calls as she gets the old man to look at her. "Are you alright."

"Yea, yea." Gobber says as he motions for her to get back and he stands up. "Just shook me off my legs a bit." He says he regains his control and assesses the situation. "I need a damage report." He says as he walks back to the rudder itself. "Casualties and damages."

"Aye." Astrid says. "Ruff', Tuff' get over here." The young woman yells as the two twins appear from each side of the bridge. "You stay with Gobber!" She says as she points at Ruffnut. "Tuff', follow me." She adds as she switches to the other twin and turns towards the stairs.

"How bad is it?" Ruffnut asks as she joins Gobber at the rudder and consoles of the ship. "Will she sink?"

"She'll hold." Gobber says as he turns the wheel. The ship is starting to list to port, where the shell just struck. "Get the lights on, we've been spotted anyway."

"Aye." Ruffnut says as she runs to the light switches and flips them all. The light on the bridge itself flickers for a second, but stays out, as do all the lights on deck, including the navigational lights. Ruff flicks the switches back and forth a couple of times, but nothing happens. "They aren't working." She calls out to Gobber, who sighs.

"Alright." He says as he walks towards her. "Take the wheel, keep the rudder at this angle." He says. The ship is continuing a turn to starboard, causing the hole in port to in as little water as possible.

Gobber kneels down, opening a closet behind which the fuse boxes of the ship hide. He looks at the fuses, which are all blown out. No wonder the lights aren't working. He figures they'll replace them later, if they even end up needing to.

"Ruffnut." He says again, wiping his brow of some sweat that had formed. "Rig all the rafts and boats for quick release." He says as he takes the wheel again. "And gather flares from the boxes, food and water from the canteen."

Ruffnut looks at the captain in awestruck. "What?" She asks. "Are we abandoning ship?"

"Not until I give the order." Gobber says. "It's just in case."

"Aye, sir!" She says as she runs towards the stairs, heading down stairs. As she exits into the hallway one deck down she can see Tuffnut coming back.

"Where is Astrid?" Ruffnut ask as she sees her brother alone.

"She went to check on the impact." He says as he passes his sister. "I'm going around closing all the bulkheads, and sending anyone who I run into to the bridge."

"Okay!" Ruffnut says as he continues down the corridor. She walks off towards the canteen, passing by the engine room door on her way there. As she passes the door to the engine room the ship is rocked again and she hears an explosion. She manages to hold onto the railing in the corridor, and is still regaining her senses as the engine room door opens. She can feel heat coming from it.

"Fire!" Another one of the crew, named Mulch, steps out. "Fire in the engine Room."

The large man basically grabs Ruffnut and pulls her inside. Inside she can feel the heat of the boilers, but they are hotter than usual indeed. She is usually stations in the engine room, so she knows what is normal for the boilers.

This is not normal.

One of the Boilers is ruptured, fire and oils are spilling out through cracks, seeping onto the floor beneath it, creating a sea of fire. The second one seemed fine, but will probably succumb to the fire in the boiler besides it.

"Help me grab Bucket." The engineer says as they reach the bottom of the stairs in the engine room. She was almost fooled thinking he meant an actual bucket, because there was already an inch of water covering the floor of the engine room. Mulch is referring to the other engineer, who is lying unconscious over a crate. "Help me lift him." Mulch says as he grabbed the larger man.

"Alright." Ruffnut says with a grunt as she lifts the heavier man. She is looking around the room as she does, and notices a tear in the ships hull. Water is spraying in, causing the room to slowly flood.

"There we go." Mulch says as he lifts Bucket further, the large engineer is swung over his neck. He walks back towards the stairs on the way out. "Ruffnut!" He yells over the sound of the roaring fire as he coughs. "Turn on the pumps!" He yells as he points to the panel.

"Alright!" She yells back as she rushed to the panel, she can feel the freezing water seeping into her thick leather boots. So much for watertight boots. She quickly starts all the pumps across the ship. They are taking on water quickly, and water filled ships tend to show poor buoyancy.

She can hear one of the pumps kick to life in the engine room. She just hopes it will be enough, since the water has already risen to a good three inches. The fire from the boiler spreads quickly, the burning oils floating on the water. She quickly rushes back to he ladder, climbing out of the quickly heating engine room.

Once she is back out in the hallway Mulch closes the door behind her. "If that water gets too high it'll cool the other boiler, extinguishing it." He explains in ragged breaths as he locks the watertight door. "The batteries are severed, so the only thing running the pumps is the generator." He continues as he turns to Bucket, the large engineer moaning softly as Mulch inspects him.

"Will he be alright?" Ruffnut asks as he looks at the engineer.

"He'll be fine." Mulch says as he lifts the large man up again. "You warn Gobber about the fire and the pumps." He says. "I'll bring this big softy back to his senses."

"Alright." Ruffnut says as he heads off towards the bridge again. As she turns towards the stairs she sees Astrid also heading towards the bridge, a look of concern plastered on her face. Ruffnut heads up the stairs, finding Gobber, along with a large portion of the crew waiting on deck.

"There's a fire in the engine room!" She says clearly as he reaches the top of the stairs. "Bucket and Mulch are fine, but one boiler is on fire." Gobber's expression grows grim, but Ruffnut isn't done yet. "There's also flooding." She adds as Astrid rushed up the stairs behind her.

"We have a hole at the waterline at port, beam seven." She explains. "It punctured the forward bulkhead, and is flooding the forward bulk compartment." She adds as he catches her breath.

Suddenly the ship begins to shake and vibrate. The lights flicker as all power is lost. The crew looks at each other, unsure of what is happening. Mulch comes up the stairs, followed by Bucket, who is holding his head. "It's the engine, we're cavitating on ourselves." Mulch explains. "This could liquify the cargo." The experienced sailor says as he helps his buddy up the last steps.

Gobber listens to them carefully. He sighs deeply, turning to his crew. "Prepare to abandon ship." He says sternly. "I want everything that can float in the water, scourge blankets, water and food." He adds. "Grab warm clothes if you have the time."

The crew looks shocked, but quickly springs to life. "Come." He says as he motions towards the door leading to the bridge wing. She sees that 'La Chaloupe' is passing them by, the 'Grump' has been slowing down since the engine hit. Behind her she can see fire coming out of the ships funnel. Things are bad.

"Signal an SOS." Gobber says as he hands her a heavy signal lamp. The ships own ones are out, the cables probably severed during the attack. Astrid quickly takes the lamp, holding it on towards the armed merchant ship, the only other ship still sailing. She starts to signal the message, and Gobber looks through his Binoculars. He can see Johann clearly. The French captain is standing on the bridge wing, looking towards the area where the enemy submarine is. He stands tall and confident, as if he is certain that the battle is won. "No reaction yet." Gobber says as he looks around the ship to see if someone responds to their message.

The ship is large, and the crew are at their battle stations, at least that's what Gobber assumes. The can see one men standing by each gun, both acting as a loader and gunner. 'La Chaloupe' has enough crew to cover each of the guns, he's certain of it. So why are they manning them with less manpower than they need.

The guns stop firing, all at once. Gobber guesses they lost the target, which probably escaped after the damage they did. Why didn't they light the enemy boat with their lights? Even after the immediate threat of torpedoes was gone.

But it seemed no one saw their message, or the crew abandoning the ship as they lowered rafts and boats into the water. "Gobber." Astrid began. "We can continue from the rafts." She suggests as she continues signalling the SOS.

"They got to see it." Gobber mutters. The ship suddenly shifts, the list to port becoming worse as the cargo in the holds start to shift. Astrid holds on to the railing, the ship is now listing almost twenty degrees, and it's getting worse.

"Gobber." Astrid urges again, trying to think of a way to convince the captain to come. She thinks of something. "We have flares collected in the rafts." She says. "We'll fire one of those, they can't miss it."

That seems to tick Gobber off. He turns around, noticing Astrid finding support on the railing because of the heavy list. "We need to hurry." He says as he heads towards the other side of the ship through the bridge. The rest of the crew has gathered one deck below, leaning against the railing with their lifejackets. The crew was already assembled on the main deck, lowering boats into the water and tossing life rafts.

"If we list even more we can just step into them." Tuffnut says as helps lowering one of the lifeboats into the water. "If we list much more we'll capsize." Mulch corrects him as the small boat lands in the water. While others are tossing life rafts overboard they lower a rope ladder down the side.

"Everyone in!" Mulch yells as the crew start to descend the ladder. Mulch stands at the top, counting the people who head down. Gobber and Astrid arrive as well. Astrid climbs down the ladder as Mulch steps to Gobber.

"Everyone present sir." Mulch says as he himself swings his leg over the railing to climb down towards the small boat, the ships list is becoming worse and worse. As he's halfway the ladder he looks at the captain. He lowers his voice. "Nothing heroic in dying without cause, sir." He says as he looks at Gobber. "Get in the boat."

Gobber smiles weakly and waits for Mulch to step away from the ladder, he swings his leg over the railing and climbs down himself.

The cut the ropes that connect them to the ship, and quickly use the peddles to row away from the listing ship. They hear the breaking and creaking of metal, and they are forced to watch helplessly as the large ship capsized, creating a wave that rocks their boat.

Gobber counts everyone again, just to be sure. He is glad to conclude that everybody was on board. "What did we manage to scavange." He asks as he looks at Mulch, he seemed to have control a while ago, so perhaps he managed to get a clear idea.

"Mainly blankets, food and water." He says as the crew shared the blankets around. The wind feels much colder now. "We have a couple of signal flares." He explains as he taps a small box. "And a single flaregun."

"Hand me one." Gobber says as he looks around, spotting the aft of 'La Chaloupe' in the distance, it was scary to see how quickly the ship was heading away. "And good job." He says as he looks at his crew. "We all did our best."

Mulch hands him the flare gun and a flare, Gobber breaks the gun open and places the flare in the barrel. He leans over the edge of the boat, and points it up at the sky. As he squeezes the trigger he hears a large bang, followed by a soft whistle. The bright red flare shoots up into the dark and smoke-filled sky. It climbs higher and higher. At a height of three hundred feet it had lost its momentum, and it calmly started to flow down with its parachute.

The crew waited anctiously. Gobber using the binocular still swung around his neck to spot for any change in the course of 'La Chaloupe'. Meanwhile four of the crew rows the ship out towards the open sea, away from the burning tanker and the capsized bulk carrier. Mulch sits at the back of the boat, using the large wooden rudder to steer them through the wreckage and towards other life rafts that had been released from the other ships.

The sea was covered in debris, pieces of wood from decks and lifeboats littered the water. The oars pierce the water rhythmically. Propelling the boat forward and away from the sinking ships. The wind is cold, and although the burning tanker's fire still illuminates the area they don't feel the heat from it anymore.

"Let's get that canopy up." Mulch says as the crew huddles together for warmth. "It'll keep the wind out." Gobber is still peering through his binoculars.

'La Chaloupe' isn't changing her course. He looks up, the flare is still in the sky, shining brightly. They've got to be able to see it.

The crew sets up the canvas canopy of the life raft. Gobber takes Mulch's position, no longer to steer, but to keep a lookout for other ships or survivors. Inside the canopy the crew sit silently, wrapped in blankets. Mulch lifts a small bock from the bottom of the boat, opening it. He gets a small bottle from it.

"Take these." Mulch says as he hands out small pills to the other crewmembers, taking one himself as well. "Against seasickness." He explains as he takes them.

The youngest of the crew, a deckhand by the name of Gustav speaks out. "But I don't get seasick." He says as he looks at the pill in the palm of his hand. "I never do."

"There's no harm in taking it." Mulch explains. "Sickness takes energy, energy you'll need." He says as he moves to the opening in the canopy. He looks at Gobber, the old captain has sprayed up water freezing in his moustache and eyebrows, and a pained look in his eyes.

"They are not turning." Gobber says with a raspy breath. "They're leaving us."

"Someone will come along." Mulch says as he takes a deep breath, the cold air filling his lungs. "Come inside, Bucket will take watch."

"Yea." Gobber says softly as he moves towards the entrance of the canopy. The lifeboat is narrow, and the two broad sailors barely fit by eachother without causing the boat to rock too much. Gobber looks back at Mulch.

Minutes pass by, and Bucket is the one who can see 'La Chaloupe' disappear behind the horizon. They fire off another flare. But the ship doesn't return.

* * *

The boat floats gently on the cold water, heaving and swaying on the calm sea. But the crew inside feels far from comfortable. The few of them are huddling close together for warmth in their sleep. The night had been young when they were attacked.

Gobber sits on the outside, on the aft of the sloop and looks around, the wind has pushed their lifeboat further away from their own ship. The dark capsized ship is clearly visible on the horizon, illuminated by the still burning tanker behind it. The sound of the roaring fire can be heard clearly over the sea. And it's mixed with the gentle splashes of water against their wooden boat.

The two propellers of the 'Grump' stick out above the water as a sore thumb, they are not turning anymore, just dripping. The sight pains Gobber immensely. His breathing is ragged. It's been hours, and Gobber is replaying events in his mind. Why did they not spot the torpedoes earlier? Why hadn't he put everyone on alert before? He had the gut feeling to back it up.

He sighs as he grabs his binoculars again. Scanning the horizon for something, anything; but there was nothing. He lowers his binoculars and sighs, but then his eyes catch sight of something. Keeps his eyes on it, afraid to lose it. And uses his other hand to reach around inside the canopy of the lifeboat.

He hears a faint grumble as he feels his hand grab hair, and Astrid's head appears in the opening of the canopy. Her hair was a mess and she looked tired. She sniffles as she looks at Gobber. "What?" She asks, her voice tired and her hair ruffled.

"Look." Gobber says as he points out towards the empty sea. "There, among the waves." Astrid followed the captains gaze and finger with sleepy eyes, and does her best to scan the sea where he points.

"What?" She asks as she rubs her eyes, focussing on the mix of subtle dark waves and soft whitecaps. "Where?"

Gobber shifts, leaning against the young woman and points again. "There." He says again as Astrid finds the target of his gaze. Hundred, maybe two-hundred yards away from them, a dark metal pole stuck out form the waves. A periscope.

"They're back?" Astrid mutters as she looks at the periscope. It was difficult to keep track of in the dark waters.

"They never left." Gobber mutters as he sits back down on the edge of the boat. "Typical submariners." He adds. "Admiring their handiwork."

"Bastards." Astrid mutters as she watches the small pole rotate, the moonlight reflects in the lens for a second. It is pointed towards the wreckages of the convoy. Astrid can hear Gobber sigh softly. "No offence." She says.

"None taken." The old man says as he looks at the periscope. "I wasn't a hair better in my time." He adds as he looks at the periscope. "Submariners are meant to act as rats." He explains. "Better chance to get home if they do."

Gobber keeps his eyes on the periscope. "Astrid, get me a flare." The captain says as holds his hand up to receive one.

"Tuff, do you still have those flares?" Astrid asks the young man who is pressed against Gustav for warmth. "Tuffnut." Astrid calls again, trying to wake him up. "Thomas!" She hisses angrily, probably a bit unfairly.

"Wha?" Tuffnut groans as he shifts. Opening one eyes to look at Astrid.

"Can you hand me a flare." Astrid asks, regaining her calm. "A handheld one or something, quickly."

"Eh, yea." Tuffnut says as he uses a free hand to dig in his pocket. "Here, got one." He says as he hands the red stick to Astrid. Astrid turns around and hands it to Gobber.

"Will this scare them off?" She asks confused. She wasn't sure why he'd try to signal the submarine. Gobber leans over the edge of the boat as he untwists the cap of the flare, a small ball and rope fall from the bottom as he turns the flare over.

"We're in the middle of the Atlantic." Gobber says as he puts the untwisted cap in a pocket, and the ball and rope dangle from the bottom of the flare. "No ship will find us until we are frozen solid, or chances are they don't dare to approach." He sighs as he grabs hold of the little wooden ball at the end of the string.

Gobber point the tip of the handheld flare away from the boat and pulls hard on the rope. It comes loose, and with a soft sputter and a second of silence the handheld flare comes to life. It sprays a faint red smoke, lit by the bright red fire that burns at the tip.

The bright glow pains Astrid's sleepy eyes, she got used to the darkness, and the bright magnesium fire left a sting behind her eyelids. "Fuck that's bright." She says as he closes her eyes and rubs them.

Gobber grins. "you'll be glad they're that bright when someone else sees them." He says as he waves the flare through the air. The light reflects of the water in the waves. The single flare being as bright as the centre of the burning tanker's inferno.

"Look." Gobber says with soft breath. Astrid looks out to sea, doing her best to differentiate the water from anything else with her slightly blinded eyes. The periscope was still in the water, but she could see the reflection of the flare's light in the large glass optic of the metal pole.

Gobber looks at the metal pole as it moves through the water, eyeing them ominously. He waves the flare, knowing that yelling won't help much. The boat wobbles as he does so, but he is unfazed by it. The periscope stares at them silently for minutes, but then it moves. He sees the periscope turning around, before it slowly sinks below the waves.

"Happy new year!" The crew cheers as they hold a toast. Their cook had managed to sneak in a few bottles of French champagne onto the submarine, and they are making sure to celebrate that now. Snotlout stands in the centre of one of the crew compartments, next to the door to the forward torpedo room, where more crew is playing cards.

"My comrades!" He says with a loud tone. "What a glorious night!" He continues as he addresses all of the crew present. They are cheerful. The sinking of the convoy raised morale, and a couple of sausages have been prepared for the night. "It's a full moon, did you notice?" He asks as he looks around the group.

The crew murmurs, some questioning if it actually was a full moon, others laughing and expecting some grand story from their bosun. "No, truly." He says as he continues. "Any normal night nothing special happens." He explains. "But during a full moon, that's a different story." He explains as he tells his story.

"A normal night can be dangerous these days." Snotlout tells his crew as he looks around. "But a full moon? Those nights are exceptionally treacherous."

"Get on with it!" A crewmember yells from the torpedo room.

Snotlout turns to them. "Don't believe me?" He says boastfully. "Why don't you swim after that merchantmen and ask him!" He says with a laugh, the crew around him joining in.

"There are sealions." Snotlout explains as he turns back to his crew. "Seahorses and even sea cows." He tells them, counting on his fingers as he names the animals. "But one animal doesn't live in the sea." He says. "How strange, no?"

The crew listen carefully, interested in the crazy story the officer is telling. "No, there is one animal who lives on the surface of the water." He says. "The sea-sheep!" He exclaims loudly to the crew.

"The sea-sheep comes in different kinds." Snotlout explains. "But the most common one, is the English sea-sheep." He says, and the crew laugh as they realise where the story is going. "But what does a sea-sheep feat the most?" He asks as he looks around the group.

"The sea-wolf." A crewmember answers laughing.

"Correct!" Snotlout yells as he points at the man. "See, the sea-wolf is more normal." He continues. "The sea-wolf lives in the water, and sometimes on the surface."

Eret is listening to Snotlout's story from the opening of the door. But he has heard enough. He turns around, heading towards the command room of the submarine. Behind him he can hear the crew laughing again, probably because of Snotlout's crazy story.

He enters the command room. Helmsman are still steering the ship, and Fishlegs is plotting their location on a large map. "Fishlegs." Eret asks and the young and broad officer turns around. "Have you seen the captain."

"Yes sir," Fishlegs begins formally. "He's up the tower." He explains.

"Thanks you Freddie." Eret says with a smile.

"No problem sir." Fishlegs replies with a smile as well. He offers his hand. "And happy new year."

Eret shakes his hand. "Yes, off course." He says. "To an end to this blasted war." He says with a smile.

"Amen, sir." Fishlegs says as he turns back to his charts. Eret turns to the ladder.

"Man on bridge?" he calls upwards, it is quiet enough that he didn't have to shout.

"Come up." He hears a response come, and he calmly climbs up the ladder. Hiccup is peering through the periscope, watching the flames on the tanker light up the sky.

"Happy new year." Eret says as he climbs through the hatch and sits down on the side of it. "Anything nice out there?" He asks with a grin.

"It's just like the fireplace back home." Hiccup says as he peers through the periscope. He leans back, grabbing a bottle of champagne that stand next to him and takes a drink out of the bottle. He passe sit to Eret.

The other officer takes the bottle, taking a swig out himself. "Speaking of home." He says as he savours the taste of the French delicacy. "How's the old man doing?"

"Same old." Hiccup answers as he looks at Eret. "You should have heard him about the push east."

"Barbarossa?" Eret asks as he passes the bottle back to Hiccup.

"Yea." Hiccup says. "He said I should push for a Baltic patrol, closer to home you know." Hiccup explains.

"You'd almost think he's missing you." Eret jokes as Hiccup takes a swig from the bottle.

"Hah." The captain laughs as he hands the bottle to Eret. "Too bad I enjoy France." He says as Eret takes a swig.

Eret looks at the bottle. They had shared about a third of it. "We should stop, shouldn't we?" He says as he looks at Hiccup.

"I'll stop." Hiccup says as he looks at Eret. "You choose yourself."

Eret sighs. "One more for the road." He says before he takes another swig. He hands it to Hiccup, who stores the open bottle in a rack on the wall. It probably wasn't meant for alcohol, but the bottles fitted perfectly.

Hiccup looks back through the periscope, admiring the fire on the horizon. "Want to take a look?" He asks Eret. "Only time a year you can feel good about what you do, while saying you haven't harmed anyone this year." Hiccup jokes.

"Tempting, but no." Eret replies as he adjusts the way he sits. The metal rim of the hatch was digging into his ass. "Maybe later."

"Suit yourself." Hiccup says as he looks through the periscope again. "One of the three has already sunk you know." He explains. "Two are still floating."

"The tanker and?" Eret asks as he looks at the young captain.

"That bulk carrier." Hiccup says. "The aft still floats in the calm waters."

"Wouldn't have thought." Eret says as he looks at the ceiling. "Although it would have more buoyancy that that one that broke in half."

Hiccup doesn't respond as he looks through the periscope again, the fire is mesmerizing; but his attention is seized by a soft red flow that reflects from the waves, coming from the right.

He turns the periscope, Eret looking curiously at him as he does so. He turns until he sees the source of the light, a bright red handheld flare, being swung by a man standing on the edge of a lifeboat.

"Not everyone is having such a grand new year." Hiccup says, peering through the periscope.

"What do you mean?" Eret asks curiously.

"There's a lifeboat out there." Hiccup says as Eret's smile falls. "The other ship didn't pick up all the survivors it seems."

"If they picked up any." Eret suggests as he stands up. "What do you want to do?"

Hiccup leans back from the periscope. "They've been in there for hours." Hiccup says. "They must be freezing."

"Man on bridge!" A familiar and deep voice yells from below.

"Come on up." Hiccup says calmly, his face still grave. Throk comes up the ladder and climbs out of the opening. With the three of them in the small space it is rather cozy.

"Eret." He says politely as he greets the second in command. He turns to Hiccup. "I wanted to congratulate you sir." Throk says as he extends his hand. "For the victory of tonight and for another beautiful year."

Eret chuckles as Hiccup shakes his hand. "Happy new year Throk." Hiccup says calmly as he releases it. "And to another year indeed."

"Do I need to take the watch?" Throk asks as he looks at the captain. "You can join in on the festivities downstairs." He says.

"No thanks." Hiccups says with a smile. "Eret will relieve me when the need arises."

"Alright sir." Throk says. "What were you talking about?"

Eret looked at Hiccup, but Hiccup spoke calmly. "We were talking about a boat of survivors that floats of our port beam." Hiccup explains calmly. "The surviving ship of the convoy fled, leaving them in the freezing water."

Throk's face grew somber. "Order number 154 states specifically that we are not to aid survivors captain." He says as he recited part of the order. "Concern yourself only with the safety of your own boat and with the efforts to achieve additional successes as soon as possible."

"I am aware of Admiral Dönitz's orders." Hiccup says as he looks at Throk. "But maritime law says we need to help." He says as he turns to the periscope and looks around with it. The seas appear clear.

"Sir, with all due respect." Throk begins. "But I don't need to remind you that Admiral Dörnitz' orders surpass Maritime Law."

Hiccup calmly moves away from the periscope, he retracts it and stands up, looking Throk in the eyes. "And I do not need to remind you are on my ship, and I will command it how I see fit." He says clearly. "And that I intend to do so with the rules of Maritime Law and the orders of Dörnitz in high regard." Hiccup says sternly, turning to Eret, who is supressing a grin.

"Eret, get me a sweep." He orders. A smile grows on Eret's face as he nods and proceeds down the hatch. Hiccup then focusses on Thork. "Get me seven six able and sober men." He orders, passing Thork as he heads down the ladder before him. Throk salutes as he passes him. "And get a doctor and some extra blankets ready." He orders as he climbs down.

At the bottom of the stairs he quickly steps aside, allowing Throk to climb down. Freddie looks at the captain with a look of surprise. He heard the stern conversation between Throk and Hiccup. Hiccup looks at his navigator. "Plot me a course." He says. "A Coruña." He adds.

"Yes sir." Fishlegs responds as he looks at the large map. A Coruña is on the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. He begins plotting the course.

Hiccup walks towards his room, on his way he passes by Eret, who is standing near the sonarman. "Nothing sir." Eret says as Hiccup stops to check on them. "Only the sound of the wrecks breaking up, and 'La Chaloupe' in the distance."

"Good job." He says. "Prepare a distress message indicating that we're helping survivors, don't broadcast our location, we can handle them alone." Hiccup says to Eret. "We'll make for Spain under the flag of the Red Cross."

"Yes sir." Eret says as he swiches to the booth next to the sonarman, where the radio operator waited idly.

Hiccup stepped in to his quarters, pulling open one of the overhead compartments. on top of some clothes he found his Bullhorn. He takes the bullhorn and closes the cabinet, grabbing his coat as he walks towards the officers room. Eret follows behind him.

"The message should be ready when we surface." Eret says. "It'll be broadcasted on the normal band."

"Alright." Hiccup said as he walks to the weapon locker and uses his key on it. Inside are the only weapons the ship had on board, and ammo is scattered through containers near the officers room.

"These two should do the trick." Hiccup says as he grabs two of the dark-metalled MP40 submachineguns. Leaving the heavier machinegun inside the locker. "I want men with these on the tower." He says as he himself grabs one of the pistols from inside the locker.

"Do you want one?" He asks as he unbuckles his belt to attach the holster to it. "Just in case?"

"I'll be fine." Eret says as he steps to the other side of the room, grabbing one of the boxes with submachinegun ammo. He opens the wooden crate. "I have three magazines and a bunch of bullets."

"Two should be fine." Hiccup comments. "One each." He locks the weapon locker again and turns to Eret. "I'll send two men over to take the weapons." He says as he walks towards the command room of the ship.

As he passes the radio room he can see his radioman busily scribbling the message down. "Ready to send sir." He says as he looks at the captain. The sailor smiles at him. Hiccup is glad to see how many of his men can find comfort in rescuing sailors, even if it goes against official orders.

In the command room he finds six men waiting, three of them stand in the command room itself, along with Throk. Another three are waiting in the room behind that. They are all wearing warm clothes, and he can see a stack of blankets ready in the other room. Their doctor is one of them.

"Doctor, I want you to stay here." Hiccup explains as he looks at the sailor. "We'll call you to inspect them after we're sure it's safe." Hiccup looks at the groups as a whole. "Liebgot and Sneider, you're on guard." He says. "Arm yourself in the officers room, first watch is waiting." He says and the two man gently pass by him in the tight space, heading towards the aft of the submarine.

"The rest will help get the survivors on board." Hiccup explains. The group looks ready, and most importantly, motivated. Throk might not agree with it, but he will follow orders. "Get ready to surface." Hiccup says as the men move towards the ladder. Hiccup turns to Throk, shooting him a gentle smile. "Thanks, it's a good group."

"No problem Captain." Throk responds politely. "My apologies for my insubordinate tone just then."

"Accepted." Hiccup says as the armed sailors come back from the officers room. They get in position the others allow them past and they climb up the stairs. Hiccup turns towards the his helmsmen.

"Surface the boat."

* * *

" _It is madness for sheep to talk peace with a wolf._ _"_

 _\- Thomas Fuller_

* * *

 **AN:**

 **These chapters seem to have a tendency to get too long. I had to cut out a bit for the next chapter, but I though of a neat thing to do there so it doesn't matter to me.**

 **I'm absolutely overwhelmed by the positive comments to this story. It greatly motives and it's amazing to see that so many enjoy the story.**

 **I usually tend to respond to comments either shortly in authors notes, or longer in personal messages, but two guests (maybe it was the same one, I can't tell) left comments about Hiccup's current side in the conflict. One was asking if Hiccup could change sides, the other one was about Hiccups current siding with the Nazis seeming to run extremely contradictory to his core values and nature. The answer to these two comments will be between the coming page breaks, if you don't feel like reading them (they get quite lengthy) then please feel free to skip.**

* * *

 **I first of all want to thank the guests for reviewing and suggesting / noting this. It's nice to hear critical opinions about your work.**

 **To answer the most recent one in a quick and short manner, I can't really have Hiccup changing sides anymore. I like the idea, but I want to keep the story technically and politically realistic, even if the plot itself is a bit far-fetched. The story in my opinion wouldn't be as interesting if Hiccup defected. He'd most likely be sent to an POW-camp in England, before being shipped to an officers' POW-camp in Canada. Here he'd sit out the rest of the war while he'll be evaluated if he didn't commit any war crimes or atrocities. If all is good, he'll be released at the end of the war and have the option to travel back to a greatly divided and possible hostile Germany, and most likely a father who is ashamed of him for defecting. The other option is that he stays in Canada – as a lot of German Officers did because they liked it there.**

 **I have plans for the plot, and although POW camp snarky Hiccup with all his escape attempts sounds awesome (and is something I'm working on for another story) sounds awesome I feel like the current way I'm going for the story is better. But that's my opinion.**

* * *

 **Okay, the answer to the second one I want to do a bit more in depth, so please bear with me. I had a large thing typed out describing the details of German politics and the inflation that happened during the interbellum. But it was starting to become too much of a history lesson.**

 **I first want to point out that Hiccup in this story isn't a Nazi – as in, he is not an active member of the National Socialist German Workers Party, the NSDAP, or believes strongly in their values. As for Hiccup's core values – and why I believe his placement in his role is not out of character – I can say this based on my experience and views on the movies and series:**

 **In the first movie we see his compassion for others, but also his desire to prove himself, especially towards his father. So, if Hiccup was born in Germany, and his father was a veteran, it would make sense for him to enlist in any form of the Wehrmacht: Kriegsmarine (navy), Luftwaffe (Airforce) or Heer (Army).**

 **We can see his leadership potential and decision-making skills grow as he grows up during Riders and Defenders of Berk and Race To The Edge. He develops into a fine leader, he's officer material. The U-boat force was considered elite, so Hiccup would surely do his father proud by joining, and certainly by becoming an officer, let alone a captain and commander. He is protective of the people who he leads, but also of the home front – in the series when Viggo threatens Berk, in the story protective of his homeland and countrymen.**

 **During the second movie we can see him as a young adult, slightly younger then he would be in this story. He's a confident and has greatly grown as a person. He is still slightly impulsive, but in shown to care greatly for the people he has to protect – in the movie the people of Berk, in this story his crewmembers and his countrymen.**

 **This all forms together to make him proud of his position. He isn't a member of the NSDAP, nor feels strongly for their beliefs. He's not serving Hitler in his mind, he's serving his country and his countrymen. Every ship with supplies for England that they manage to sink prevents the English from making more bombs, shells, ships, planes and weapons. Preventing loss of German life.**

 **He doesn't agree with the war goals of the government. But he will do his best to protect his own people.**

 **Where someone stands on any subject is usually a matter of where you are born and where you grow up. Your surroundings shape you as a person and form a large part of your character. If Hiccup was born in America he'd probably enlist as well, he would fight the Germans. Same if he was born in England, he'd fight the enemy of his nation. Why would it be different if he was born in Italy or Germany?**

 **I believe the idea I have for Hiccup's character in this story is just. He might be on the side of the 'bad guys', but that doesn't make him a bad person. Each side tried to convince their soldiers otherwise, but everyone in a war is a human being. They can love, live, forgive, and all that jazz.**

 **Hiccup is still the character we know and love. And eccentric, curious, but confident person who cares for the people around him. And he'll do anything to protect them and keep them safe and comfortable. He's just a small person lost in a big world. Perhaps born in the wrong place at the wrong time, causing history to take him somewhere he wouldn't ever have to be.**

 **But in my opinion, that is what happens to most soldiers.**

 **The two world wars that rocked the world during the first half of the 20** **th** **century was a terrible thing. Too many lives were lost and families were shattered on both sides. But I am not convinced that I can judge if someone if right or wrong, if all they do is try to fight for their country and their believes, even if they differ from mine.**

 **After all, war doesn't determine who is right, only who is left.**

* * *

 **Alright, I'll stop with the moral justification of my thoughts there :P I want to thank the guests again for reviewing. I don't want to bash your ideas and I certainly don't want to scare you away from reviewing on stories. It's a great way to show authors that you care and that you feel compelled and involved with the story.**

 **Anyway, thank you all for reading, and I'll try to get on with the next chapter soon!**

 **Take care!**

 **\- R4y**


	4. Wolf in sheep's clothing

**Dance Among Wolves**

 **Chapter four, Wolf in sheep's clothing**

 **AN: Small note before we start. Any cursive will either be actual German speech, or translated German. Have fun reading. :P**

* * *

Gobber watches the empty water with sunken hope. The periscope disappeared so quickly, so rapidly. Gobber sighs as he feels his hand start to twitch. The blonde captain doesn't care for it at the moment. He lets it shiver and twitch. He sits down again, the flare in his hand is slowly burning up, almost reaching the end. He can feel the heat on his hand.

"Gobber." Astrid begins as she looks at his twitching hand. "We'll be alright." She reassures him. "Johann is experienced, I'm sure he sent out a message with our position." She argues as she looks at the dark sky.

"I'm sure planes or ships will be here in a few hours." She says as she looks at the skies. "Or a few days." She corrects herself, realising how far they are out at sea. "But help will come." She says as she looks back at Gobber with a weak smile. The flare in his hand dies out, and he tosses the glowing red metal into the water. They can't heat anything with it, only burn things.

"You're a fighter." Gobber says with empty eyes. "I wish I could think the same." The old man mutters as he looks out towards the sea again.

"Come." Astrid says, placing her hand on the cold, twitching hand of Gobber. Strangely enough, the twitching seems to lessen. "Get in the canopy, you're freezing." She adds. "I'll keep watch."

Gobber looks at the young woman, her hair is still ruffled because of the short and unpleasant sleep he had woken her from. "You look like a mess." He says with a weak smile, and an even weaker chuckle. Astrid laughs as she straightens her hair a bit.

"You don't seem so good yourself." Astrid replies cynically with a smile and the two switch positions. Gobber doesn't go too far inside though, staying in the opening of the canopy, looking out to sea with Astrid. The wind is slowly taking them further and further away from the burning wreckage.

Astrid hears a heavy sigh from Gobber. "If we make it back to dry land." He begins softly. "I'm never setting foot on a ship again." He says weakly. "I'm staying there, for good this time."

The young sailor smiles, looking out to see. "You strike me as the man who has said that a couple of times already." She begins as she gazes over the sea. "Haven't you?"

"Perhaps." Gobber says as he stretches his arms out and yawns. He looked at the wreckage of his ship, illuminated by the burning tanker. "Guess we really pulled the short straw tonight." He says as he looks at his pride and joy, capsized and sinking.

"I'd say we pulled one of middle-length." Astrid says as she looks at Gobber. "We got all of us in a lifeboat." She looks into the canopy, where Mulch and Bucket are also sleeping, Bucket having a large blue mark on his bald head. "All roughly uninjured."

Gobber is silent, for he can't argue with it. Astrid is right. They hadn't seen any lifeboats of the other ship, let alone people in lifejackets in the water. They hadn't gotten the chances they had gotten.

"First German I see," Astrid begins. "I'm going to punch right in the jugular." She Gobber says. He doesn't know how she manages to, but she almost makes him forget he's in a life boat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. "You seem like the type of girl who would do that."

"Good." Astrid says with a grin. "I do mean properly punch." She clarifies. "Like, really something that'll leave a mark." She says as she forms fists and punches the air in front of her. Gobber feels himself genuinely amused by the display.

"I can just picture it already." He says with a deep laugh. Astrid find herself laughing with him. From inside the canopy Ruffnut looks at them in silence.

'Great' She thinks. 'Two who have already lost their minds.'

The two continue to laugh. Their soft laughter and snickering becomes the only thing that fills the air around them, but like the fire in the distance it slowly dies down.

Gobber lets out a relieving sigh. "Been a while since I laughed like that." He says as he looks out to sea. Astrid adjusts the blanket she has wrapped around her.

"Yea." She says as she flexes her neck, feeling the cold wind assault the exposed skin. She quickly raises her shoulders, pushing the blanket up to cover her neck.

"How are you feeling?" Gobber asks. "You're holding up well for what I'm assuming is your first shipwreck."

Astrid looks at the Captain. "I'm glad nobody died I guess." She says softly. "And I guess I'm a bit cold." She admits as she adjusts the blanket again. "But besides the fact that I feel every muscle in my body tensed-up and that I want to scream my lungs out I feel pretty good."

"Ah." Gobber says. "Good to hear you are responding healthily to this." He jokes as Astrid raises her eyebrow. "The muscle and screaming part." He clarifies.

"My throat feels too parched to scream though." Astrid says. "I could go for a drink."

Gobber looks at her. "We'll see how much water we have in the morning." He says. "And we'll start rationing from there."

"Yea." Astrid says as she looks out. "Too bad the sea's not fresh water."

Their conversation is interrupted when they are alerted to the sound of splashing water. A bit more than hundred yards away from them a large ship surfaces. A dark-grey painted submarine, with a painting of a black dragon on the side.

They watch in shock-filled awe as the water flows from the deck and conning tower. The presence of the large ship feels surreal next to their small lifeboat. They see men appear on the deck. They are armed. Two stand there in warm coats, protecting them from the wind, carrying guns. They aren't aimed towards them, but they seem ready. Among them stand two more men, one with a brownish hat, and one with a white one. More men appear on the deck, disappearing down the ladder on the far side of the tower.

Gobber recognises the ship as a German U-boot. The marking U-96 on the side of the tower really gave it away. But the build wasn't that different from the boats he recognised from twenty-five years back.

The man with the brown cap places a bullhorn in front of his mouth and addresses Gobber and his crew.

" _Bitte werfen Sie Ihre Waffen über Bord!_ " He yells in German. Gobber looks at Astrid, who looks confused back. " _Werfen Ihre Waffen über Bord!_ " The man repeats.

"We don't speak German!" Gobber yells with hands cupped around his mouth. He watches at the men look at each other before the younger man with the white cap takes the bullhorn from the other one.

"Please throw your weapons into the water." He yells in English, Gobber is surprised at the quality of his speech, although he has a slight accent. "Flares and signals." He adds, clarifying.

"What's happening?" A voice asks from inside the canopy. "Who's yelling?" Gustav asks as he just wakes up.

"Gustav, hand all the flare gun and ammo." Astrid commands quickly. "And wake up the rest."

Gustav quickly does as told. Handing the box with flares and the flare gun. Astrid hands it to Gobber, who calmly and demonstratively opens and empties it, tossing the contents into the cold water. The handheld flares are quickly passed to them as the rest of the crew wakes up.

"What's going on?" The question rises again as light illuminates the canopy. The man with the brown hat is using a signal lamp to illuminate them slightly.

"We're being rescued." Gobber answers quickly as he tosses the last few flares overboard. "I hope." He adds softly.

The crew quickly comes to life, removing the canopy quickly but calmly, not wishing to anger the armed sailors on the enemy submarine. They all look towards the light anxiously, wrapped in their blankets.

"Do you have" The man with the bullhorn begins before he pauses for a second, searching for words. "Propulsion." He finishes.

"We have oars!" Gobber yells back, he turns to his crew. "Grab the oars, show them." The crew grab the four oars from underneath the benches of the small boat, and quickly fix two on either side.

The Germans seem to be discussing something, and the submarine slowly comes into motion, it moves slowly and steers sharply. Men rush across the deck with bundles of rope. Waiting for the ship to come close enough. The first sailor tosses a rope out towards the life raft. But it falls just short.

"Stay out of the water!" The German yells from the tower. It was a logical thing to forget in such a situation, as it seemed very tempting to jump in to grab the rope. But the freezing water was deadly, even if you are in it just a little while.

The second rope hits the boat, and all of the crew in reach clamp onto it with a white knuckled grip. "Hold on that rope." Gobber says as he reaches over and grabs a part of it as well. If somebody accidently lets it go there will be enough to keep a hold on it.

Astrid watches the submarine. Five sailors on deck are pulling their boat towards the vessel, and the armed men and the officers on the conning tower move towards the ladder on the side. The submarine heaves gently in the water. Waves clash softly against the hull.

It feels strange to look at the submarine. Astrid feels mixed emotions as she stares at the boat. It had brought them certain doom hours before, but its crew was currently pulling their lifeboat towards them – saving them from the cold and relentless open sea.

The wooden lifeboat crashes gently against side of the submarine. The two ships heave differently, but the German crew does not hesitate to tie the lifeboat alongside the ship. Gustav is the first of Gobber's crew to react. He quickly climbs out of the boat. The submarine is lying half a meter higher in the water.

The short climb isn't easy for the young boy. As he leans against the German ship he feels his legs growing weak and his arms ache. The cold has gotten into his muscles, and it's eating away at his energy. Two German's kneel on either side, grabbing him under his arms and heaving him onto the deck. Gustav sighs deeply, lying on the cold wooden deck.

The twins are next. Skinny as they are, the cold has gotten to them, and they are also helped onto the vessel by its crew. The three men left in the boat are fine, their broader bodies protect them better against the cold, and they manage to help Astrid on board before climbing on themselves.

The crew sits on the deck, still covered by blankets and huddling together for warmth. Mulch is first to act, the large engineer is sympathetic, and not in favour of the war; so he doesn't feel strange thanking his saviours, even if they are the enemy. As he tries to stand up he is quickly pushed down again by one of the Germans, and one of the armed sailors aims his weapon at him.

" _Auf den Knien!_ " He yells as he aims his gun, the shoulder strap swung around his forearm. " _Hände hoch!_ " Mulch stays down, looking at the German frozen with fear. The combination of the foreign language and the dark opening at the far end of the barrel paralyzed him with fear.

" _Nicht schießen!_ " Tuffnut yells weakly from within the group, he's shivering from the cold as he huddles his blanket.

"You speak German?" Gobber asks as he looks at his crewmember.

"Yea?!" Ruffnut hisses as she shivers herself. "What the fuck bro?"

Before Tuffnut can answer a tall man appears from the side the conning tower. He's wearing a black leather coat and has his collar raised to protect his neck against the cold winds. Parts of a dark grey scarf are visible, sticking out between his neck and the collar. He's wearing a white cap, with on it a golden eagle, its wings spread and standing on a small roundel with a swastika in it.

He calmly places his hand on the weapons of the alarmed sailor, gently forcing him to lower it. "Are you all?" He asks in slightly accented English as he kneels down. The group nods weakly. " _Schön._ " He says with a smile.

Gobber adjusts himself, he notices that it doesn't seem to trigger a reaction from the crew, so he calmly tries to stand up. The German crew look at them calmly. He turns to the German with the white cap. "Thanks." He says as he extends his hands. "For saving us." He adds.

The German takes his hand, Gobber didn't know what he expected, but the handshake is firm, yet gentle. He smiles kindly. "My crew will secure your boat on the deck." Hiccup says as he shoots a glance to Eret. He's one of the few Germans on the boat who could understand, let alone speak a bit off English. Luckily his first watch understands, and he calmly orders some of the men to help with getting the lifeboat on deck. "You will be able to stay there while we make our way to shore."

Gobber has questions, but decides to treasure the current hospitality for the moment as he sits down. The crew lift the lifeboat out of the water, securing it behind the tower of the ship, on the aft deck. Hiccup turns around, looking at Eret. " _Switch on the diesels, charge the batteries, and load the external torpedoes._ " He orders in German as he turns to look at the survivors, huddled together for warmth. " _One guard at all times._ " He says calmly. " _Let me see if I can find somethings warm for them._ "

"Well." Ruffnut hisses softly as he looks at the captain talking with the other officer. "What are they saying?" She asks. " _Bruder?_ "

Tuffnut sighs. "Something about batteries." He says as he pulls the blanket higher to his neck and leans his head down to rest it on whoever sat behind him. "Captain man is looking for something warm."

Ruffnut smiles softly, something warm, that'd be nice. She looks as the Germans fondle with the canopy of the lifeboat. The small boat is secured on deck with large coils of rope, leaning against the back side of the tower, blocking the path around. The crew climb over the boat if they need to get to the other side.

They sit idly on the boat. Glad that they are save. Glad that they are alive.

The winds seem less cold as before, the air seems nicer, and the water looks far less treacherous than it did before. Astrid sighs, looking at the German captain as he climbs up the ladder at the side of the conning tower. He looks young, maybe her age.

She finds herself staring at him, and doesn't realise until he looks at her from the top of the conning tower. He shoots her a soft smile, before turning around and disappearing behind the railing. She finds continues to stare at the empty space. She tries to imagine the young captain among his men – a lot probably older than him – barking the orders to sink their ship.

His English had been remarkable, and he had only showed kindness and generosity. A lot of the German crew had, it is clear that they are tense as they stand they watch the survivors. But some are starting to chat with other sailors, continuing with their daily routines.

She hears louder talk coming from the tower again, and shifts her eyes upwards again. The captain is back, talking to one of his crew on the top of the conning tower. The sailor and him climb down the side of the ladder. Hiccup is the first to climb over the secured boat, crossing the side where the canopy isn't covering the boat.

He stands in front of the crew again but first speaks to the armed guard. The man nods and retreats across and behind the lifeboat again. Hiccup kneels before the group again, lowering himself slightly to their level.

"This is our doctor." He explains as he looks at the group. "His English is poor, but he has expertise." He adds as he looks at the man. "I'll act as his" He begins, snapping his fingers as he tries to think of the right word. "translator."

The doctor says something in German, pointing to some of the crew. He points at the twins as he speaks, continuing to point at Astrid, then Gustav. He thinks for a second, then points at Gobber as he tells something to the captain. The captain nods as he turns to the crew again.

"You, you, you and you two." He says as he points at the people the doctor just picked. "You stay." He says. "The rest can go inside your boat." He continues as he points to the secured lifeboat near the tower. The crew reacts calmly, standing up and walking over to the boat.

The doctor speaks to the captain again, Hiccups turns to the survivors when the doctor finishes and steps closer to the remaining group. "You, stand up." He says as he stops next to Gustav. The young boy tries to stand up, but his muscles give in. Hiccup turns to the doctor, who walks over to them. "Stay calm." Hiccup says as he kneels next to the boy. The doctor does so as well, quickly inspecting the young boy. He looks into his weakly opened eyes, and his shivering posture.

" _Krank,_ " The doctor says as he whistles for two sailors to come. They climb over the boat as the other half of the survivor group tries to get into it. "Unterkühlung." He explains to the captain as the sailors arrive.

Gustav shivers weakly as he is lifted from the ground by the two German sailors. " _Get him in their boat._ " Hiccup orders as he walks along with them. As he does so the doctor motions for the twins to stand up, which do so in unison. Ruffnut doesn't seem too fazed by it, but Tuffnut has more trouble with standing still. He is not standing firmly, he often has to adjust his footing to keep upright as he corrects his balance on the moving vessel. The doctor looks at them for a second, then sends them off towards the boat. Tuffnut translated it for his sister, but she understood the hand signals from the German.

Near the small boat the German sailors are lifting Gustav into the ship, and are being helped by Bucket and Mulch. Hiccup is leaning over the edge as he watched the young boy be laid down on blankets which are quickly wrapped around him.

"He is at risk." Hiccup explains to the survivors inside the boat. "He has," He begins, tapping on the side of the boat as he is thinking of the word. "He, eh, he has," He repeats as he turns to one of the sailors " _Unterkühlung?_ " he asks him, but the sailor shrugs. "Undercooling." He says as he acts out shivering.

"Hypothermia?" Mulch asks as he looks at the young German captain.

He points at Mulch and nods. "Hypothermia!" He repeats slightly accented. "We're checking the rest now." He explains. "Keep him warm." He adds as he turns around and walks back to the doctor. He passes the twins on his way there, who seem healthy enough.

As he returns to the group the doctor is inspecting Astrid. The young woman seems annoyed by it, feeling fine. As Hiccup returns the doctor is just done inspecting. "You can join the rest in your boat." Hiccup explains as he looks at her. Astrid looks at the captain. She figures he is exceptionally young for his position. A soft stubble has formed on his chin, and his cap is on slightly lopsided.

"Miss?" He asks and Astrid's thoughts are interrupted. She is looking at the captain with a stern look, almost an angry gaze. She calmly walks towards the boat, climbing inside.

Hiccup turns to Gobber. "Sir?" He asks as he looks at him and motions for him to get up.

"The Belch." Gobber says politely as he gets up. "Gobber." He adds as he extends his arm to greet the captain.

"Heinrich Haddock." Hiccup says as he shakes the old mans hand again. The doctor is calmly inspecting the old man in the meantime. "You are their captain, yes?" He asks calmly as he looks at the old blonde captain.

"Yes." Gobber says with a smile. "The hat gave it away, didn't it?" He asks with a soft grin.

The German laughs calmly. "Ha, it did." He explains as he looks at Gobber again, his expression growing grave. "Did, all of your crew manage to abandon your vessel?"

Gobber looks at him, suddenly painfully remembering that his is the man that probably ordered the attack on their convoy. He sighs deeply. "Yes." He answers. "We're blessed for that, and for you." He says politely. As they talk the doctor seems to be contempt with the state of the older man, he nods to his captain and heads back towards the ship.

Hiccup watches the doctor climb over the boat before he turns back to Gobber. He shoots the old man a painful smile. "Did you see any other survivors?" He asks as he looks out to see, the bulk carrier had sunk, the aft of the tanker is quickly disappearing below the waves at it finally sunk. "Any other boats?"

"No boats." Gobber explains as he gazes out to the wreckage. "Some jumped overboard." He adds. "But they'll be gone by now."

The German captain sighs, then turns to Gobber. "Cigarette?" He asks as he smiles softly. The old captain looks at Hiccup. He had left his own smokes on the bridge, and he felt like he could unwind a bit. The captain dug in his pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes, offering it to Gobber.

"Thanks." Gobber says as he pulls out one of the cigarette, it is a German brand he doesn't know. The captain grabs one himself before he stuffs the packet back into a pocket of his coat. He then holds out a small packet of matches, striking one to light the cigarettes. Gobber inhales as he the German lights the cigarette. Feeling the mixture of cold and hot air fill his lung. He feels his muscles grow less tense.

It has always been a mark for him, lighting a cigarette meant the end of something. It meant that things were over, that they were calm. The German cigarettes are surprisingly good.

The captain of the submarine exhales, a small cloud of smoke exciting from his mouth. He turns to Gobber as he holds the burning cigarette in his hands. "The second war of the German people." He says as he holds out the cigarette. "The war against smokes."

Gobber looks at the captain with a puzzled face. The German looks back at him, a grin on his face. "Our dear Fuhrer is against smoking." He explains as he takes another pull of his cigarette, he exhales calmly. "Rationing for these little buggers got cut, and we're not allowed to smoke in busses, trams, trains, you name it." He explains.

"Really?" Gobber asks surprised as he looks at the captain.

The captain takes a long drag. "Yes, I'm afraid so." He explains as smokes piles from his lips. He turns to look out to sea again as he exhales. "They're right I guess, with health and all." He sighs, lifting the cigarette to his mouth to take another pull from it. He breathes out calmly. "But it is still annoying." He says as he gestured with his hand, the small burning tip of the cigarette clearly visible in the dark.

"There are shortages of everything in England." Gobber explains. "I couldn't manage to get any cigarettes last time I was there." He says as he too takes another pull. "Can't remember the last time I had coffee."

"Proper coffee?" Hiccup asks as he looks at the old captain.

"Yea," Gobber answers as he looks at the captain. "Make from actual beans."

The German exhales as he laughs. "We have our own kind." He explains as he points down to the deck of the boat. "On here." He adds. "It's a mixture of acorns, and some other stuff I believe."

"That sounds god awful." Gobber says with a grin as he looks at the German captain.

"It's really not." Hiccup says as he smiles. "It has a different flavour, and there's no caffeine, off course." He explains calmly, tapping on his cigarette to make the burned-up tip fall off. "Reminds me of chocolate sometimes." He says. "I'll see if we can get some cups for you and your crew."

Gobber looks at the captain. "You don't have to pamper us sir." He says to the young man. "We're grateful enough for rescuing us."

"It's the least we could do." Hiccup says with a weak smile as he looks at the remnants of the burning tanker. "We're the reason you ended out there." He explains as he turns to Gobber.

"I can't blame you." Gobber says with an expressionless face. "I've been there."

Hiccup looks at him with a curious look, he opens his mouth to speak; but he is interrupted by a sailor from the deck of the conning tower. " _Herr Kapitän!_ " He yells over the waves. " _Dieses?_ " He asks he is holding up a large white flag with a black eagle resting on a small red cross on it.

" _Schön!_ " Hiccup yells back, and the sailor goes on to mount the flag on the flagpole of the submarine. Behind him sailors are using thick gloves to carry a shell casing of the 8.8-centimetre cannon across the deck. They carefully hand it down to the side of the tower. Hiccup turns to Gobber. "Ah," He says with a smile. "The heating." Hiccup walks over to the lifeboat.

The sailors hand the shell inside, careful to keep it upright. Steam is coming out from the top. " _Trink nicht!_ " A German soldier tries to explain as he helps to place the shell inside the small boat. " _Salz!_ " He adds.

"It's salt." Hiccup translates as he looks the crew shift around the large shell casings. "We filled them with boiling water, should give some heat." He says as he leans on the side of the boat, his cigarette in one hand, smoking softly. "Do you need anything else?" He asks gently.

The crew looks at the officer in awe. The man is exceptionally nice, Gustav rubs his hand over his throat gently. Fearful of speaking and asking too much of the kind captain. Hiccup sees him doing so and smiles.

" _Wasser._ " He says to one of the sailors. " _Und etwas Warmes zu essen!_ " He tells one of the sailors, who confirms it and heads back up the ladder of the conning tower, heading off to relay the orders.

"Water and food is coming up." Hiccup explains as he looks at the crew again. He turns around to look at Gobber. He takes another long pull of his cigarette, the burning tip almost touching his woollen gloves.

"I'll see about that food and water." Hiccup says as he tosses the butt of the cigarette into the sea. "You should get inside your boat." Hiccup says as he starts to climb over the boat.

Gobber nods, but the German captain doesn't notice as he walks off. He finishes his cigarette, looking at the lifeboat that has been secured on deck. It is slightly lopsided because of the shallow keel of the wooden boat, but otherwise looks secure enough. Gobber climbs over the side, being greeted by his crew. Except for Gustav, the young boy lies shivering in the boat, wrapped in blankets. Gobber shoots him an apologetic smile. Mulch looks at the young kid, then to Gobber. "He'll make it." The engineer says as he adjusts himself, trying to lie down in the small boat. "He's strong."

Gobber nods gently, he turns to look at the young German captain again, who is watching whatever is happening on the foredeck. A peculiar man, that's for certain. He climbs into the lifeboat, joining his crew under the blankets.

Hiccup walks away from the lifeboat with survivors, he passes on the port side of the conning tower and looks out across the foredeck. Nine of his crew stand on deck, carefully lowering the seven-metre-long torpedo into the forward torpedo room through the angled hatch. Hiccup watches, not feeling any envy for the men, he remembers the days where he had to do so.

" _Sir_?" He hears someone call from behind. He turns around to see Eret leaning over the railing of the conning tower. He motions for Hiccup to come. Hiccup turns away from the crew loading the large weapon and climbs up the side of the conning tower. As he reaches the top he is greeted by Eret.

" _What is it?_ " Hiccup asks calmly as he leans against the aft railing of the tower, next to the two-centimetre antiaircraft gun.

Eret looks at the watched standing on the forward end of the bridge, he turns to Hiccup, his voice lowered. " _Sonar picked up a contact._ " He explained. " _Bearing east, medium range, closing the distance._ "

Hiccup looks out to sea as he processed the news. " _La Chaloupe?_ " He asks calmly.

" _My best guess._ " Eret admits as he looks over the railing besides Hiccup, looking at the canopy of the lifeboat. " _Probably received the radio message._ " Eret explains as he looks at Hiccup again.

" _They could take the survivors on board._ " Hiccup thinks out loud as he looks at Eret. " _Saves us the trip to Spain."_

" _So, no action?_ " Eret asks for confirmation.

" _Continue loading._ " Hiccup says calmly. " _We're under the red cross, we should be safe in our travels._ "

" _Yes captain._ " Eret says politely as he turns to the port staircase. Hiccup himself heads to the main hatch of the submarine and climbs inside.

At the bottom of the two ladders Fishlegs greets him. " _Sir?_ " The navigator begins. " _Do you have a second?_ "

" _Of course._ " Hiccup replies as he steps towards the plotting table.

" _I've taken a look at the weather reports we received previous days._ " Fishlegs explains as he points to the map. " _There's strong wind coming from the west._ " He says as he grabs some papers. " _I believe the storm will be upon us next night._ " He says as he shows Hiccup one of the older weather reports. Hiccup takes it gently, but doesn't read it, he trusts Fishlegs. " _I'll have to wait out the weather report of today to be sure._ "

Hiccup grabs his watch and looks at it. It is a quarter past one. The daily weather report is sent each day at six 'o' clock from High command. They'll have to wait until the message was sent around.

" _No problem._ " Hiccup says as he closes his watch and looks at Fishlegs " _We might have the survivors off board by then._ " He explains calmly. " _We'll be able to dive in time for the storm._ " He says with a smile. " _Do continue._ " He adds quickly. "Please."

" _Yes sir._ " Fishlegs says as he turns to his charts again.

Behind Hiccup a sailor sets his foot on the first rung of the ladder. Hiccup turns towards the man. The sailor looks at him. " _Tell the first watch officer that I'll be in my quarters._ " He tells the man.

" _Yes captain!_ " The man says as he turns back to ladder and climbs up. Hiccup turns around, heading toward the galley. He crouches as he moves through the bulkhead and yawns; the irregular sleep is slowly getting to him. And he can't wait for the night where he can just sleep for a full eight hours again.

The cook is standing in the galley, behind the stove. He is boiling some more water to put into another empty shell casing. " _Captain?_ " He asks surprised as he turns around. " _To what do I owe the visit?_ "

" _Don't worry._ " Hiccup says as he looks at his cook. " _Do you think you can get some fresh water and warm food ready for our castaways?_ " He asks as he looks at the piping at the ceiling. Dried meats and vegetables are hanging from the ceiling.

" _Off course!_ " The cook says as he turns to his stove. " _Just a simple hot meal?_ " He asks as he opens a small cupboard.

" _Yea._ " Hiccup confirms. " _Mainly warm._ " He says as he turns to look behind him. " _Nutritious would be also be nice._ " He says with a smile as he looks back at the cook.

" _We always have some potatoes to spare._ " The cook says with a laugh as he lifts a burlap sack, which is half filled with potatoes. " _I could make some nice warm mashed potatoes._ " He explains as he grabs a large tuber from the sack. " _I think we have a couple rations of Scho-ka-kola spare too._ " He adds.

" _Scho-ka-kola._ " Hiccup repeats as he points at the cook. " _That's a good idea._ " He says as the cook turns around. Scho-ka-kola is a German dark chocolate with caffeine in it, it is great for long watches at night, but also filling. " _Get them a tin or two._ " Hiccup says as he turns around.

" _Will do captain!_ " The cook yells after him as Hiccup walks away. He then turns back to his cooking.

* * *

Hiccup is awoken by tapping on the side of his cabin again. " _Captain?_ " He hears his second in command ask as for him. " _Are you awake?_ "

" _I am now._ " Hiccup says as he sits upright and moves the curtain to the side. He rubs his eyes.

" _Apologies for waking you sir._ " Eret says as he looks at the sleepy captain. " _But we spotted smoke on the horizon._ "

" _What time is it?_ " Hiccup asks softly as he searches for his watch. Once he finds it he flips it open. Half past seven. He looks up at Eret. " _Did you identify it._ "

" _Afraid not, It's still too far away._ " Eret explains calmly as he leans against the doorpost. " _Should be 'La Chaloupe'._ " He adds.

" _Resend the message about us helping._ " Hiccup says as he stands up. He stretches calmly. " _I don't want to risk confusion." He explains to Eret. "How are the survivors?"_

" _Good._ " Eret explains calmly as he takes a step back, giving the captain some space. " _Last time I checked they were sleeping._ " He says as he steppes further back to allow a sailor to pass them in the narrow hallway. " _The old man asked for you._ "

" _The old man._ " The captain repeats. He snaps his fingers as he thinks. " _The Belch, was it?_ "

" _Could be captain._ " Eret answers truthfully. "I haven't had the pleasure yet." He explains calmly. " _My English is not as good as yours._ "

" _Well, you still have a little while until they'll be off board._ " Hiccup says calmly as he dons his uniform. " _You might want to exchange addresses._ " He jokes as he looks at Eret.

" _Comical._ " Eret says unamused as the younger captain steps out of his cabin, his coat in hand and his scarf wrapped around his neck. They walk towards the command room.

" _How close is the ship?_ " Hiccup asks as he shifts back to serious matters.

" _About three miles._ " Eret says as he stops near the ladder. "He's quite clearly visible against the horizon already."

" _I'll inform the survivors._ " Hiccup says as he steps on the first rung of the ladder. " _Make sure we are ready for a hasty dive._ " He says with a smile as he looks at Eret. " _Switch to electric motors, and prepare what you need._ " Hiccup says calmly. " _Just in case._ "

" _Yes Sir._ " Eret says with a smile as walks towards the radio room. Hiccup calmly climbs up the first ladder, stopping inside the conning tower as he fixes his gloves and scarf properly. Once he is confident he is neatly insulated he continues up the second ladder, exiting out of the hatch at the top of the submarine. The cold air immediately strikes him, and he can feel himself sobering up from his last remnants of sleepiness.

Three men are keeping watch, one greets his captain. " _Good morning captain._ " He says formally as he smiles. " _Here to inspect the ship?_ "

" _Mainly checking to see if you've all frozen or not._ " Hiccup jokes as he looks at the sailor. " _But please, show me this ship._ " He asks as the crewmember grins. Hiccup knew him well, a young man by the name of Oskar. He is one of the men who can enjoy a bit of humour, even when keeping watch in freezing winds.

" _She's over there._ " The sailor explains as he gives Hiccup the binoculars. " _Steaming straight towards us._ "

" _It'll be fine._ " Hiccup says as he peers through the binoculars, although the ship is distant he can recognise the shape against the horizon. It is 'La Chaloupe'.

Hiccup looks back at the sailor, handing him the binoculars again. He guesses they haven't spotted the submarine yet, since they were distant and relatively small. The only reason 'La Chaloupe was somewhat recognisable was because the horizon behind her was already starting to grow lighter. The morning twilight is growing stronger, but it will take a few minutes before it has reached them.

He climbs down the ladder on the side of the tower, heading towards the tied-up lifeboat on the aft deck. The small boat still stands sturdily, having survived the night and winds. He inspects the ropes that keep it in place, it should even keep put in high seas. But Hiccup spotted one possible problem. If they wanted to dive it would take a moment before they got the small boat cut loose, since it was secured by bollards and holed in the deck with a good two-dozen thick lines. He was glad 'La Chaloupe' was coming this way. He'd rather have the small boat gone form his deck as soon as he could.

He walks to the opening flap of the lifeboats canopy. He wants to lift it to peer inside, but decides he should knock first. He gently taps his flat hand against the thick canopy, a small layer of frozen water breaks off it, sticking to his gloves.

"Hello?" He asks in English. "Is anyone awake?"

Inside the boat he can hear people shift, and before long the flap of the canopy is lifted. One of the young blond woman looks at Hiccup from the opening, her messy and half-undone braid resting in her neck.

"Yes?" She asks kind of groggily, maybe he has woken her up. "What did you want?" She asks. "Erm, sir?" She adds, unsure of how to address the officer.

"Please, no need for that." Hiccup says as he sits down on the side of the lifeboat. "I wanted to inform your group of something." He explains calmly. "Is your captain awake?"

Astrid looks at the German captain, she doesn't like how calm and rested he appears. The way he casually sat down on the side of their lifeboat unnerved her. She looks over her shoulder, Gobber is sleeping calmly, him and Mulch leaning against each other.

"He's asleep." Astrid answers as she turns back to the captain. "Do I need to pass a message?"

Hiccup briefly looks away, looking towards the part of the horizon where 'La Chaloupe' is coming from. Because he is now lower then he was on the conning tower he can't see the ship, so he looks back to Astrid. "Could you wake him for me?" Hiccup asks, earning a raised eyebrow from Astrid. "I'm sure he won't mind."

The blonde woman sighs, turning to her captain. "Gobber?" She softly whispers as she gently shakes his shoulder. "Gobber, come on." The cold captain shifts, causing Mulch to seek support on Bucket, who leaned against his other side. The old captain opens his eyes weakly, looking at Astrid with a stern look.

"The captain has something to say." She quickly says before Gobber can say something about being awakened. Gobber half-lidded eyes suddenly open properly. He sits upright as he climbs towards the opening in the canopy. Astrid shifts inside the boat, making room for her captain.

"My apologies for having someone wake you." Hiccup says as Gobber appears in the opening of the canopy. He digs in his pocket again. "Cigarette?" He asks he pulls out the packet.

Gobber looks at the captain, sighing with a weak smile. "Only if you have one spare." He says as he leans a bit further out of the canopy, keeping the blanket he has wrapped around his back.

"Always." Hiccup says with a smile as he pulls out two cigarettes. He hands one to Gobber, and has a match lit before Gobber has the cigarette in his mouth. He calmly lights the cigarette of the old captain, and then his own. With a soft flick he tosses the match into the sea, the wind extinguishing it before it lands in the water.

Gobber watches as the captain takes a pull from his cigarette, doing the same. "Thanks for the mashed potatoes." Gobber says calmly before exhaling, the cloud of smoke quickly drifting with the wind. "And the chocolate."

"Ahh, the Scho-ka-kola." Hiccup says as he points with his cigarette. "Did you like it?" Hiccup asks calmly before taking another pull.

"Yes, it was delicious." Gobber answers honestly. "Curious taste, but really filling." He adds as he describes the chocolate.

"It's great for long nights at sea." Hiccup explains with remnants of smoke still flowing from his mouth. He is silent for a second. "Anyway," He continues. "A ship is coming this way, you'll probably be able to get on board, and they can bring you to shore a bit more," He pauses as he looks at the small boat. "Luxurious."

"It's a godsend that we're alive." Gobber says as he laughs. "I don't mind how we get to shore."

"Healthy attitude." Hiccup says with a smile. "But I hope you understand that you being here is dangerous." The German captain explains. "For your crew as well as mine."

"I completely understand." Gobber says as he looks at the captain. "And I admire the risk you're taking in helping us."

"Don't mention it." Hiccup says as he looks out towards sea. "It's been a pleasure so far."

" _Captain!_ " A sailor calls to Hiccup from the bridge. " _The ship is manoeuvring!_ "

"Ah." Hiccup says with the cigarette hanging between his lips as he stands up. "Duty calls." He adds as he tips his cap and turns to the conning tower. Gobber watched him walk away.

"What a peculiar bloke." He comments softly as he takes another pull of his cigarette. He looks inside, seeing Astrid staring at him. "What do you think of him?" The old captain asks.

"He's kind of young." Astrid admits. "Don't you think."

Gobber sighs. "Normally, perhaps." He admits. "But that's the war, sucking up the younglings." He says bitterly. He looks around the boat before turning back to Astrid. "And besides that."

"I don't know." The young woman says. "There's something about him, but I can't put my finger on it."

"Yea, he's a strange one." Gobber says softly as he leans against a support of the canopy.

Suddenly, the canopy is illuminated from the outside, and they can hear the German soldiers on the tower above them shout. Then, a loud crack and whistle briefly fill the air.

Hiccup calmly climbs up the side of the conning tower, and is greeted by Oskar. " _Sir._ " He says as he hands the captain his binoculars. " _The ship has changed course._ " He explains as Hiccup looks at the single ship on the horizon. " _She's coming straight towards us._ "

Hiccup spots the ship; the bow is indeed clearly presented towards them. If it would bear its navigational lights he would probably be able to see both the green and red light. He calmly lowered his binoculars.

" _How far out is she?_ " Hiccup asks calmly. " _And what is her speed?_ "

" _We estimate about two miles._ " Oskar says. " _And for speed we'd say about fifteen knots._ "

" _Has she shown any signs of slowing down?_ " Hiccup asks curiously. If the estimations of his crew are correct the ship would be upon a matter of minutes, and he would rather not have to avoid a collision.

" _The only change in course and speed was the turn to steer towards us._ " Oskar notes as he looks at the ship on the horizon. The dawn of the day was slowly climbing higher and higher on the horizon, but they still remained in relative twilight. " _Should we signal for intentions?_ "

" _Best we wait._ " Hiccup says as he peers through the binoculars. " _Looks like it's started a slight turn to port._ "

Oskar grabs another pair of binoculars, turning his gaze to the ship as well. " _Looks like a rather sharp turn._ " He corrects as they look. "Course change of about," He stops to think for a moment. "forty-five degrees."

" _That should give them ample sea to slow down._ " Hiccup begins, but their conversation is interrupted when the searchlights of 'La Chaloupe' light up, briefly blinding the two Germans.

" _Scheisse._ " Hiccup curses as he blinks and looks at the ship with bare eyes. A spotlight near the bridge is lit, but it is not the only source of light near the ship. At the bow of the ship appear two brief flashes, followed by two short ones at the stern.

The four shells whistle by almost at the same time, a loud crack and whistle left as Hiccup turns to the watchmen. " _Sound alarm!_ " He yells as the sound of the shots reach them. " _Prepare to dive._ "

Oskar reacts quickly, and turns to the hatch. Hiccup turns to the other watchmen. The first shots landed far, flying over the top of the submarine. The second salvo is coming in, and lands just short of the submarine, creating large splashes of water. They shots have straddled, it wouldn't take long for them to strike true.

" _Do you have knives at hand?_ " Hiccup asks the two remaining watchmen. They both shake their heads. " _Get inside._ " He yells as he rushes to the aft part of the conning tower, peering down on the lifeboat. He meets Gobber's gaze.

Hiccup hesitates for a second, but as the then another salvo of shells approaches the ship. He ducks out of the way, the shells flying only metres over the top of the submarine. One snaps through the wooden flagpole, splinters land in Hiccup's neck. The shots were striking close now.

He lifts himself up again and makes eye contract with Gobber. "We're diving!" He yells to the old captain. He hesitates for a second as he sees Gobber's eye turn to the cold dark waters around them, then he looks back at the captain with a saddened, but accepting gaze.

Hiccup swallows. They'll never get the boat loose in time, but they won't survive in the cold water for more then a couple minutes, especially without lifejackets and other protective gear. "Come inside the boat if you want to survive!" he yells down, motioning for them to come with his hand.

Gobber quickly springs to action. "Get up everyone, we're going inside!" He yells as he pushes Astrid and Gustav out of the boat, they rush to the ladder and climb up the tower. The rest quickly follows. As they reach the deck the German captain stands there alone.

"Get in!" He yells as he points at the hatch. They head down one for one. The German captain stands next to it, shouting at them to hurry while the deafening ringing of the dive alarm can be softly heard on deck.

Gobber stands next to the hatch., waiting for Bucket to go far enough that Tuffnut can follow. "Run to the bow!" He yells as Bucket looks up. Gobber points towards the aft so Bucket can find his way inside. "That way!" He yells as his crew disappear into the submarine.

Hiccup feels the boat shift as they start to move forward with greater speed. He feels the bow of the ship start to sink as the dive starts, and water begins to swallow the front of the ship.

"Get in!" He yells at Gobber, who is the last one on deck. "I'll follow." He adds, and Hiccup is amazed by the speed at which the older man slides down the ladders. It allows him to quickly follow, closing the hatch as water begins to surround the tower. Shells continue to fly overhead as the submarine dives.

* * *

" _Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves._ "

Matthew 7:15

* * *

 **AN:**

 **Okay, this chapter took a while to write. Mainly because I feel like the characters are kind of Out of Character and such. I'm not really sure if I've build up enough to the point where Hiccup will allow them inside the submarine, since that would probably kind of be a no-go. But any way, here we are.**

 **If someone told me three years ago that I'd be quoting the bible in httyd fanfiction in a couple of years I would've declared them insane, but here we are. :P**

 **I hope you all enjoyed, and I hope you are looking forward to the next chapter.**

 **I think that I thought of quite a clever excuse to lock them in the sub together for a while. Huehuehue.**

 **Take Care!**

 **R4y**


	5. Tale of two wolves

**Dance Among Wolves**

 **Chapter five, Tale of two wolves**

* * *

Astrid climbs down the ladder in a hurry, and is first truck by the immense heat that lingers in the submarine. In just seconds she can feel herself grow drowsy by the warm, moist and musky air in the submarine, and it is fighting against her adrenaline that currently rushes through her body.

She climbs further down without looking, and almost hits a German sailor in his head with her boots as he rushes through the room below her.

"Get to the bow!" Bucket yells over the ringing alarm and the shouting German crew. Officers are standing in the hallway, yelling at crew to rush to the front of the ship. Astrid joins in, but the untrained woman is far slower then the regular crew of the boat, as she rushed down the hallway she feels the sub start to shift. It's so much different then the regular movement of ships that she briefly loses her balance, and stumbled to the side of a path. As she regains her balance in what looks like crew quarters she is pushed aside by German sailors who are continuing to the bow of the ship. She quickly joins them again.

As she passes through the last airlock she ends in a large open room. A group of sailors is already lying on the ground at the far end of the room, but Astrid decides to stand in the corner. More of her crew rush into the room, Gustav joins the German crew on the ground, as do Bucket and Mulch. The twins decide better of it and stand in the other corner of the room, catching their breath. Gobber rushes in finally, heading through the bulkheads with an agility Astrid didn't expect of the old captain. And he quickly joins the mixture of German sailors and his crew lying on the far side of the room.

The crew that is lying on the floor is in varies, most are young men of her age. Some of them are in their uniform, others in simple pants and shirts. One of them is shirtless, and another one has a small plate of food with him, which he is eating calmly.

She feels her heart beat in her chest, and the rest of her own companions looks as startled as her. It is in sharp contrast with most of the submariners, they are calm, yet look ready for anything. Ready to spring to life. The room she is in seems to be the most forward room in the submarine. At the far side of it there are four large round bulkheads. Astrid guesses that those are the tubes for the torpedoes, since one of the long weapons is currently lying in line with one of those tubes.

A man rushes into the room, he looks like an officer. Astrid doesn't recognise him. He has longer, swept back hair, and small stubbles growing on the previously shaven sides of his head. He turns to her, looking at the young woman with a stern and scowling look, like he despises her.

Astrid felt too tense to speak, it is hard to imagine, but she felt saver in the freezing boat on deck then inside the hot and humid vessel. Between the sound of boots on metal and soft whispers of crew she can hear the water flowing around the hull of the vessel.

The officer turns to the crew, quiet, but sternly telling them orders in German. He shoots another agitated look to Gobber's crew, before he disappears behind though the bulkhead. Astrid turns to Gobber, who shoots her a gentle, but tense smile. She feels conflicted, but perhaps a bit safer.

* * *

Hiccup slides down the ladder with incredible speed, clamping to the sides for the last half to slow down before he hits the ground. He steps back and turns around, immediately standing eye to eye with Eret.

" _No damages reported._ " His first watch says. " _We're levelling out on periscope depth and crew is awaiting orders._ "

" _Keep everyone ready._ " Hiccup responds as he turns to look at the large periscope in the middle of the room. " _Dive to thirty._ " He says as he stops. " _Half speed._ "

" _Yes._ " Eret responds. He turns to the main helmsman, but he had already copied the orders and was giving instructions to the sailors controlling the dive planes.

" _Sonar for bearing?_ " Hiccup asks as he takes position behind the main helmsman.

" _On it._ " Eret says as he turns the bulkhead on the bow-side of the room and heads towards the sonar room.

" _Front: level. Aft: five degrees._ " The helmsman calls out, and the sailors adjust their wheels to change the dive plains of the submarine. The submarine was still in the dive, so they were quickly approaching the target depth. " _Depth thirty meter._ " He calls out. " _Aft: level._ "

Hiccup stays quiet, listening carefully. A gentle creak is heard as the water presses against the hull of the submarine, the sounds doesn't unnerve Hiccup, not at these depths.

" _Sir._ " Eret calls out through the bulkhead. Hiccup turns, motioning for him to continue. " _Ship bearing one-hundred-and-eight degrees._ " He begins. "Closing fast."

" _Close all bulkheads except yours._ " Hiccup says back to Eret as he turns to the helmsman again. " _Take us to seventy._ " As he leans back against the periscope one of his officers passes Eret through the forward bulkhead.

" _Sir._ " Throk says with a stern look. " _Are you aware that the survivors have gone aboard?_ " He asks directly.

Hiccup calmly turns to Throk, he had expected him to disagree with his hasty decision. " _I saw no other options._ " Hiccup explains calmly. " _Cutting their boat loose would've taken too much precious time, and would've made us an easier target._ "

" _And you didn't consider leaving the survivors?_ " Throk asks, suppressing his stern tone towards his superior officer. " _They could've been picked up by the merchant._ "

" _If we left them in the water they wouldn't be survivors for much longer._ " Hiccup says sternly as he looks at Throk, he turns to the helmsman, who is instructing the men to carefully bring the boat to seventy metres deep. " _Besides, the merchant didn't seem keen on aiding._ "

" _Eret is towards the bow, you passed him._ " Hiccup continues before Throk can ask another question. " _Please ask him to keep an eye on the survivors while I handle this._ " He orders gently as he stands at ease in the crowded command room. "After that, please make sure everything is alright in the make sure all the aftward bulkheads are closed.

" _Yes captain._ " Throk says politely as he heads off towards the bow of the ship. Hiccup turns to his Helmsman again but stays silent. They can hear the sound of the electric engines running in the far end of the submarine. Hiccup calmly listens for any strange noises as the submarine creaks, the pressure of water pushing against the hull of the submarine.

The crew is silent. Hiccup guessed that 'La Chaloupe' does not have an extensive array of sonar equipment, but its always better to stay silent than to risk giving away their position. There haven't been any loud 'pings' from an active sonar system. And he guesses they are in the clear, but doesn't celebrate yet.

" _Vessel, bearing one-hundred degrees, extremely close._ " Somebody whispers from the front facing bulkhead. Throk emerges from the bulkhead, and walks wordlessly through the room, disappearing through the other bulkhead. He gently closes it behind him.

The noise from the engines is muffled now, and Hiccup continues to listen, looking at the bearing of a hundred degrees, just to the right of his helmsman. He stares at the steel inner hull, as if he can see right through the steel and iron and water.

" _Dead slow._ " He whispers, and the helmsmen quickly execute the order. The noise of the engines dies down even further, barely audible. The last remaining sound they make is replaced by another sound, quickly growing louder. The sound of heavy screws, cavitating in shallow water.

Hiccup shoots a quick glance to Snotlout, who is standing in the corner of the room. He notices the bosun swallow, sweat gleaming on his throat. He is tense, and Hiccup can feel it. The sound of the screws grows louder and louder. Hiccup raises his hand, grabbing the pipe that leads along the roof of the submarine to hold himself. He sees Snotlout and other crewmembers do the same, bracing themselves.

The first explosion is heard, and the entire submarine is violently rocked. One of the helmsman is blown from his post, doing his best to climb back onto his place as more explosions rock the submarine. Hiccup closes his eyes, focussing on standing up, holding on to the pole at the surface with a white-knuckled grip. The sound of the explosions is deafening, and the ships rocks through the water, like a toy in the hands of a child.

The explosions stop, and the sound of the screws start to fade. Hiccup calmly opens his eyes and looks around. The helmsman who fell is composing himself again. He looks at Snotlout, his cap is on lopsided and he wears a sinister grin on his face. Hiccup knows he wants to say something, but he knows well to be quiet in these scenarios.

" _Take us deeper._ " Hiccup whispers to the helmsmen. " _Change course to port, slightly._ " He orders.

The helmsmen execute the command, and Hiccup can feel the bow of the ship dipping lower as they dive. The hull creaks more as the pressure rises, and he sees how the helmsmen flex their fingers around the controls.

"Vessel _, bearing eighty-four degrees, changing course._ " Eret calls out again from the forward bulkhead. At the same time Throk opens the aft one.

" _Captain._ " He whispers loud enough to get Hiccup's attention. " _We have two wounded here._ "

Hiccup turns to Eret. " _Is the doctor in the forward compartments?_ " He asks, Eret responds with a nod. " _Send him over._ " He says, and Eret disappears again. Hiccup looks at Snotlout, the grin is still present. " _You keep an eye on those survivors._ " He says. " _I'd like to have Eret here._ "

" _Of course._ " Snotlout responds with a grin as he walks towards the bulkhead.

" _Stefan._ " Hiccup calls his cousin by his first name. The bosun turns around, looking at his captain with a surprised expression. " _Keep them calm._ "

" _Sure thing._ " Snotlout says with a smile, and he disappears through the bulkhead. After he has gone through it the doctor emerges from it.

" _Two men towards the aft._ " Hiccup says calmly as the doctor nods and walks past, carrying a wooden case of medical supplies. At the same time Eret climbs out of the bulkhead to the bow, walking towards Hiccup.

" _La Chaloupe is coming around again._ " Eret explains as he rubs his chin.

The sound of the ships engines softly fades in again, almost directly from their beam. Hiccup listens carefully as the powerful screws of the mercantile vessel grow louder and louder.

" _Hard to port._ " He orders as he the sound of the cavitation above them almost grows deafening. Hiccup braces himself again. The submarine starts to turn, causing the origin of the sound to shift more towards the bow.

The sound grows even louder, finally right above them. Hiccup flexes his fingers around the pipe he is holding on to, and shifts his feet slightly.

The first explosion is distant, but it is quickly followed by more, closer ones. They rock the submarine, and travel from the front of the submarine to the back. Hiccup closes his eyes as the lights flicker and he hears something shatter towards the aft. Maybe a plate or a cup, perhaps even a lamp. They are shaken about, and he feels a muscle tense painfully as it absorbs the shock.

He hears yelling and the sound of flying metal hitting something in the distance. He opens his eyes as he last explosion sounds and composes himself. He looks at the depth indicator, it read seventy metres, well within the boundaries of the green zone of the gauge. The helmsman looks at him. " _Deeper._ " He says calmly. " _Neutral rudder."_

The helmsmen execute the commands, adjusting the dive planes. They attempt to adjust the rudder, but the ship doesn't seem to change its heading. The dials read alarming numbers, oil pressure having dropped completely from the system.

" _Steering system damaged, sir._ " A helmsman states as he fiddles with the controls, trying if other methods might help. " _No response from input._ "

Hiccup turns to Eret, who shoots him a worried look. He turns back to the helmsman. " _Take her deeper._ " He orders again. " _Quickly_."

"Aye, Sir!" The helmsman responds and quickly issues commands for the crew to adjust the dive planes of the submarine. The bow of the ship dips down again, and the submarine slowly descends.

Hiccup shoots a glance towards the depth gauge, it reads ninety now. Ten more meters and they'll be out of the green part of the gauge. He is certain that the boat will hold though. The sound the heavy engines of 'La Chaloupe' fades away again. Hidden behind the background noise of the sea and the submarine.

" _Deeper._ " Hiccup reassures his helmsman with a gentle smile. He glances around the hull.

" _Vessel coming around again!_ " The sonarman reports. Hiccup calmly looks at Eret, who smiles back at him gently. The sound of engines starts to rise among the waves again, its origin quickly drawing closer.

Hiccup looks at the gauge, the indicator slowly creeps across the numbers, passing metre by metre with an unnervingly slow speed. " _Come on."_ He silently mutters to himself. " _Faster._ " He grips the tube he has been holding on to tight again, bracing himself for another volley of depth charges.

The sound of the engines passes over them again, and Hiccup feels his muscles tense. Another creak sounds from the hull of the submarine as they pass ninety-five metres, and then the depth charges come.

The first one goas off near the stern, and rocks the boat in the water. The hull creaks under the immense pressure, but holds. More explosions trace the submarine, but because they are still turning to port they vary in proximity. Most of the charges explode above them, but one of the charges sinks further, exploding when it is directly abeam of the submarine.

Everything goes dark, and Hiccup can hear glass shattering as he closes his eyes. He feels shrapnel land in his neck. It's hot and sharp, probably a shattered lamp. The boat rocks as he keeps himself upright by his arm. More explosions echo above them as he hears a crewmember shout from the far back of the submarine. Perhaps more got hurt, it wouldn't matter, the doctor was there already.

As few seconds later the last explosion sounds, and the engine noise is fading again as 'La Chaloupe' moves away again. Hiccup opens his eyes and is greeted by total darkness. He feels the hot glass burn in his neck, but it doesn't hurt him, not right now. After a couple of seconds their room is illuminated by a soft red light. It's still rather dark, since only two of all the red lights seem to work.

He lets out a sigh he hadn't realised he's been holding. He looks at the depth gauge. It reads one-hundred and ten metres. " _Cut the engines._ " He orders. " _Level her out at hundred and twenty metres._ "

The orders are copied quickly, and Hiccup hears the sound of the electronic engines of the submarine stop. He turns to Eret. " _This should do the trick."_ He says with a soft smile as he turns around, showing his back to the officer. _"There is some glass in my collar, can you get it out?"_ Hiccup asks politely.

" _Certainly sir._ " Eret says to the younger captain as he plucks two large shards from the collar. _"They left some nasty cuts and burns."_ He says as he pulls a small shard that has already embedded itself in the skin a bit. _"You're bleeding, better see the doctor as well."_

" _Send him to me once he finished more serious injuries."_ Hiccup says quietly as he flexes his shoulders. " _Get me a report of damages and injuries._ " Hiccup says as he looks back at Eret. " _Please._ "

" _Of course, sir."_ Eret says, and heads towards the aft.

Hiccup looks at the other sailors in the room, before turning and heading towards the bow of the boat. He climbs through the airlock, feeling a small shard of glass dig into his neck again as he does, the fabric of his shirt clinging to the wetness of his upper back. He grunts softly as he steps through and walks turns to the sonar man on the other side.

" _And?_ " He asks softly as he stands next to the young sailor.

" _Loitering._ " He answers softly as he looks at the captain, turning the wheel of the hydrophone ever so slightly. " _No indications that they're heading going for another attack._ " He explains. " _But they don't seem to be leaving either._ "

" _Alright, good work._ " Hiccup says as he steps back the sonar room and turns to his quarters. He carefully doffs his uniform, at least the top half of it, and lays it down on the small desk. He'll pick the last glass from it later. He gently brushes his hand across his neck, feeling small splinters being mixes with sweat. He looks at his hand, a soft dark liquid barely visible in the red light of the submarine.

He opens a cabinet and pulls out his reserve clothes, a dirty brown sweater. He brushes the last of the debris from his neck and takes the sweater under his arm. Since Eret had headed towards the back, he decides to check the front of the submarine. The submarine creaks again as he walks towards the bulkhead leading into the forward torpedo room.

* * *

Astrid's muscles are tense, cramped. She's pressed into the corner of the room, still standing and holding on to a support on the side of the bulkhead with a white-knuckled grip. The crew of the submarine is still pressed into the far front of the room, against a wall with four large valves.

She feels weird, adrenaline flows through her veins. She's ready to run, to fight, to do anything. But she can't.

She can not run anywhere, she can't fight, they can't even flee. They are trapped in a large metal tube, who knows how deep in the water. The metal creaks and her eyes shoot toward the origin of the sound. Did it come from their room, was it the one next to them?

She felt claustrophobic.

She had never had a problem with ships being cramped, or the threat of water on the other side of a ships hull. But it had never been like this. The water had always been on the sides or beneath, never on top. She doesn't like being submerged.

Her eyes shoot to the bundle of men lying on the far side of the room. The rest of Gobber crew look as scared as she might look. Frightened by the powerful rocking that the depth charges gave them. Even the twins look scared, although their eyes shimmer with admiration for the powerful force and the idea of the explosions occurring outside the submarine.

Hey eyes land on Gobber's, and she lets out a ragged breath she didn't realise she was holding. The way he stares at her, intensely, concentrated yet calm. She feels her own nerves being calmed by his gaze. It's almost speaks. It'll be fine.

Another German enters the room, he's a bit bulky, and to Astrid's surprise he is wearing a sly grin on his face. He turns to her first, quickly recognising her as one of the survivors. "Guten Tag," He whispers with a smile, a soft sparkle in his eyes. "Wie gefällt dir unser Boot?"

Astrid looks at the man with a puzzled expression. She didn't understand a word he just said, but she somehow suspected it was meant sarcastically. The boat creaked under the pressure, causing Gustav to let out a startled shriek among the bundle of men lying at the front. The German quickly turns to the group, kneeling in front of them.

"Keine Sorgen," He says with the same sly grin as he looks at Gustav. The young boy looks at the German with large, frightened eyes. "Verstehst du deutsch?" He asks, Gustav looks at him with a puzzled expression, and the grin falls from the officer's face. He extends his hand, urging for Gustav to take it. "Stefan Jorgenson." He says as Gustav takes his hand. Snotlout points to himself as he explains his name.

"G-gustav." Gustav answers. Snotlout suddenly let's go of his hand and looks upwards, already hearing the ship approaching again. He sighs and turns back to Gustav.

"Keep calm." The German officer says, heavily accented, and in barely understandable English. "Keep calm, and carry on." He says again, his grin having returns. He steps back and leans against the side of the hull, finding support to prepare for the coming attack.

Astrid can also hear the sound of the ship approaching in the distance, heavy engines roaring through the water. She feels them, hard and heavy. They begin to overpower every other noise inside the submarine. Gentle dripping of water, inaudible whispering between crew, even her own breathing; it is all overshadowed by the heavy, powerful roaring of the engines.

They sound reaches its peak, a deafening roar that fills the submarine. It slowly fades, and she can see Gobber closing his eyes. She braces herself as he does, preparing for another round of explosions.

The explosions are deafening, even more so then the roaring of engines, which seems to fade as soon as the first depth charge rocks the submarine. She feels her breath hitch as the vessel rocks in the water. It is as if they are running aground, the entire vessel being shook violently. Creaking under the pressure and force of the water and the depth charges.

The boat creaks more and more, and Astrid can see that it is starting to affect the German crew as well. As the creaks grow louder and longer more are starting to look around the walls of the submarine. Her own eyes land on the connection between two pipes, where water is softly dripping from the seal.

She swallows, and closes her eyes as to calm herself. In the distance she can hear the heavy engines approach again. The attacks feel relentless, and she feels herself slide down against the wall she is leaning against. Her eyelids feel heavy by the stress and, admittedly, fear. Her body feels broken from the constant rush of adrenaline and the continuous tenseness of her muscles. She sits on the ground, her legs close to her and her arms wrapped around them. The air inside the vessel is hot and moist, and even with the fear and adrenaline rushing through her system she feels tired, exhausted.

She wants to scream, to release all the pent-up energy that was somehow swirling in her exhausted body. She wants to fight someone, to beat something senseless. Her mind wanders to the small gym they had made aboard the 'Grump', an old burlap sack, filled with loose sand and old rags had made for a relatively good boxing bag, and she longed for it now.

The hot air, the smell of sweat and oil. It was so close to the memories of the small gym. It almost felt as if she sat there, in the corner of that gym. Tired after a long training session.

The sound of heavy engines through the water invaded her fantasy, but she pushed it away. She wasn't on the submarine anymore, she didn't want to be there. She was somewhere else, somewhere safe. Somewhere comfortable.

The cavitation grows louder, and Astrid tries harder and harder to push it away. Her arms tighten around her legs as the submarine creaks. The Belch didn't creak, only on extremely rare occasions. She remembers well how it creaked just a few hours earlier though. How the ship had shook and creaked. How steel was being stretched and snapped, and how it had started to list as they took on water.

Explosion take over, and Astrid falls over as the submarine is shaken. She opens her eyes as she catches herself. It only allows for a split second of vision, since all lighting in the submarine disappears a second later with the sound of shattering glass.

* * *

 _An old Cherokee told his grandson,_

" _My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority lies & ego._

 _The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, & truth."_

 _The boy thought about it, and asked, "Grandfather which wolf wins?"_

 _The old man quietly replied,_

" _The one you feed."_

\- Author Unknown

* * *

 **AN:**

 **Okay, so this one took even longer, sorry for that.**

 **In all honesty, this one didn't take longer to write, I just had less time. My internship was coming to an end and I hadn't done much in terms of writing papers and reports, so I had to finish all that in the last two weeks. But I felt like I owed you all a chapter, especially since last one kind of ended in a cliffhanger.**

 **I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas and I want to wish everyone a happy new year. Even though it is extremely late for that :P**

 **I also want to give some time to another comment about Hiccup being a German in this story. (so for anyone uninterested in that you can ship the part between the breaks :P )**

* * *

 **I agree that Hiccup would never be a supporter of the Holocaust, but I do believe that he would, like many Germans, be oblivious to the fact that it is happening.**

 **I agree that anyone living close to the concentration camps used for extermination would know, however, the large systematic gassing of prisoners and burning of bodies only really started at the end of 1941, at the same time this story play out, and only in specific location, most in Poland. In my mind Hiccup would be living in Hamburg or Kiel, which would be quite the way away from the eastern camps, and also wouldn't be close to any of the regular routes the trains and other methods of transport for the Holocaust would take (this is a guess however).**

 **Given that Hiccup is on a submarine, and average wartime submarine patrols would range anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 months, I'd say he isn't home often. The shoretime for crew depended on the reason for returns. If a u-boat returned for resupply it has a good chance of shipping out a couple days later. Which, often granted the crew no time to leave for home, especially when based in France, when even a small week of downtime could mean not time to travel back.**

 **If the uboat was moored for repairs, or even worse, had to go into dock, there was a good chance that the crew – especially officers – could go on leave for a while. But even than they would only be home for a couple days, often a week at most.**

 **If Hiccup has been sailing since 1933, there's a good chance he'd only be home for a total of a couple months, spread out over a couple of days. In this time, he'd be more focussed on meeting with family and friends then worrying about political situations. He really wouldn't be seeing much of the country he'd be fighting for.**

 **That combined with the incredibly effective propaganda could effectively 'blind' him. The public has always believed what they wanted to believe, and nobody wants to believe their country is killing millions of innocents.**

 **The website of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has an impressive page dedicated to the German – and Nazi – propaganda machine, and how they managed to deceive the public. It's quite a read but I heavily advice it. As for life aboard uboats, I suggest Uboatdotnet and uboatacesdotcom. The dots are actual . in the website url, but since fanfiction removes any links you type out I have to do it this way :P**

 **I don't think Hiccup would allow it to happen, or is turning a blind eye. He is being fooled; fooled by his country and by himself. If you'd explain the holocaust to most Germans from the second world war they wouldn't (want to) believe you. It would sound like a far-fetched conspiracy theory. It is just unimaginable for someone that time.**

* * *

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and like where the story is coming, if you have questions you can always leave a review or send me a personal message. I love to chat about or discuss ww2 related topics. I must warn that my knowledge of the pacific theatre is limited though. :P**

 **Also, I am running out of wolf quotes XD**

 **Take care, and have a great 2018**

 **\- R4y**


	6. Deceitful Wolf

**Dance Among Wolves**

 **Chapter six, Deceitful Wolf**

* * *

When light reaches Astrid's eyes again it is bright and focussed. She squints as the sharp yellow light is directed away from her. Among the pile of sailors, one has pulled out a large bulky flashlight, which he is using to check everyone around him. She can hear the sailors whisper to each other in German.

She pushes herself upright, leaning against the wall behind her again. The entire room is dark to her, except the small cone of light produced from the flashlight, which darts around the room. Through the bulkhead she can see a red glow coming from the room where they entered the submarine.

She turns her gaze back into the room as the submarine creaks. Carefully she lifts herself off the wall, her legs feel sore. The German officer that joined them stretches. "Häng das Licht von der Decke bitte." He orders calmly. Astrid doesn't understand it, but suspects he asked to hang the flashlight from the ceiling, using it as an improvised lamp.

"Jorgenson?" She hears a voice call out. "Bist du in Ordnung?"

"Ja, Kapitän." The officer responds as the young captain steps through the bulkhead and sits down on the opening, he lets out a deep sigh. He's poorly dressed, a sharp contrast to the way he looked in his uniform a moment ago. His cap is lopsided on his head, and he is wearing a dirty and probably sweat soaked shirt. She guesses it was at one time supposed to be white, but it is a mixture of light brown with darker stains. Under his arm is a bundled sweater.

"Schön." The captain responds as he looks around the room. "Geht es dir gut, Männer?" He asks as he looks at the sailors. The crew responds softly, muttering various kinds of confirmations in German. "Schön." The captain repeats with a sigh as he turns back to the officer. Astrid guesses he came to check on them, but she could always ask Tuffnut about what he said exactly.

"Alle in ihren Kojen, nur die notwendigen auf ihrem Posten." The captain orders as he stands up, using the handlebar on the side of the bulkhead for support. "Ich möchte mit den Gästen sprechen." He says with a smile as he looks at Gobber and his crew. "Können wir den Raum für uns allein haben?"

The other officer nods, and relays the orders to the men. Astrid can't follow a word the Germans say, especially when they talk so quickly, but she thinks the captain asked everyone to leave. The sailors calmly stand up and pass the captain and the bosun. Hiccup turns, and as he does both Astrid and the officer both notice the large red stain on the dirty shirt.

"Was hast du getan?" Snotlou asks as he Hiccup turns around. "Dein Hemd ist wie unsere Flagge, rot wie das Blut."

"Glasscherben." Hiccup says as he points to his neck with his hand. Astrid repeats the word in her mind. _Glass shards?_ It sounds likely. The officer nods, and leaved the room.

Hiccup turns to the remaining people in the room, Gobber's crew. He sits down on the bulkhead again. He clears his throat softly. "It is important that you all stay quiet." He explains in English. "Otherwise they might hear us." He says as he points his finger upwards. "Do you understand?"

Gobber and his crew nods in unison. The submarine suddenly creaks and half of the crew react startled. Hiccup smiles calmly and gently, it is a natural reaction. His expression then grows grave. "I won't lie to you." The German captain explains as he locks his hands together. "You're not allowed on board." He tells the crew as he looks at them. "And having you on here is a danger." He adds. "For me, and my crew."

"We appreciate what you're doing." Mulch says with a warm smile. He understands the difficulty of the situation, but realises that they probably would've died was it not for the Germans. He wants to continue, but the German captain cuts him off.

"As long as you are on board," He says, his voice suddenly carrying a stern and authoritative tone. "You'll listen and speak to me." He says sternly, looking at every single one of them. They all seem to understand him clearly enough, except for one.

Astrid stares back at the captain with a defiant expression, not hostile, but far from compliant with his requests, or orders in this case. She studies the expression of the captain, searching for clues she's not even sure existed. She feels strange under his gaze. Somehow his eyes burn with a passion and a strength she would expect in any officer, but his young and slender body still clash with the authority he'd otherwise radiate.

"Understood?" He asks with a light accent. The question could have been meant for the group, but Astrid felt as if she was asked the question personally. She nods softly, keeping the eye contact with the young captain. "Schön." He mutters softly.

The captain stands up from the bulkhead he was sitting on, he glances around the dimly lit room once more, then glances at the flashlight hanging from the ceiling. "We need to preserve." He explains in the German accent which was slowly getting familiar. "Don't move, it is easy to hurt yourself in the dark." He says as he steps towards the flashlight.

Astrid sees how he winces when he reaches for it with one arm. The light suddenly turns off, and the room is dark again. There's still a fain glow coming through the bulkhead, and the silhouette of the captain is clearly visible.

"I'll bring some water shortly." He explains as he steps through the bulkhead. "Remember, keep quiet." He says as he stands up on the other side. Astrid hears the soft sound of his boots on the metal floor.

* * *

" _Captain?_ " The doctor asks as he meets the captain in the central room. " _You called for me?_ "

" _Yes,_ " Hiccup responds as he looks at the captain. " _I got cuts and burns from glass in my neck, can you take care of it?_ "

"Certainly sir." He says he clutches the wooden box with medical supplies under his arm. " _At the table?_ "

" _That would be best._ " Hiccup answers. " _Lead the way._ " He says as he motions for the doctor to head towards the small table on board.

He gentle follows the doctor, and watches as he sets up his kit on the table. " _Sit here please captain._ " The older sailor says as he motions for a spot. " _And take your shirt off please._ "

Hiccup takes his stained shirt off and sits down, careful not to get blood on the seats; he wants to keep his boat clean. He turns his back to the doctor, and looks down at the blood-soaked shirt in his hands. There's more blood then he had expected. The cuts were probably deeper then he had expected, combined with the high blood pressure resulting from the attack. He calmly folded the shirt, making sure the blood stains were on the inside.

" _I already see the problem._ " The doctor says from behind him. " _Cuts and burns from hot glass shards._ " Hiccup can hear him turning behind him and rummaging in his kit. " _Does it sting or burn?_ "

" _A bit._ " Hiccup admits as the doctor pulls out one of the glass shards with tweezers. Hiccup winces softly. " _How does it look?_ "

" _Messy._ " The Doctor admits, pulling out another shard. " _A few large wounds, which still bleed._ " He begins to explain as he presses some cloth against the wounds. " _And a few shards I'll have to remove or they'll get infected._ "

" _Great._ " Hiccup mutters as the doctor pulls another shard from his back.

" _I need another hand._ " The doctor mutters as he struggles to cover all the small wounds with the cloth with one hand. " _Can you hold this in place?_ " He asks.

" _Of course._ " Hiccup answers as he reaches over his shoulder to keep the cloth in place. " _Like this?_ "

" _Perfect._ " The doctor responds as he quickly pulls another two shards out of his back. " _Ah, only a small one left._ "

" _Make it fast please._ " Hiccup mutters as he feels the doctor trying to get grip on the buried shard.

With a quick pull it is out, and the doctor puts the tweezers on the table. " _Now to disinfect._ " He says, warning the captain. He grabs a small bottle from the kit, putting some of the liquid inside on a new cloth. He presses the wetted cloth against the wounds, and Hiccup hisses and winces in pain, sharply sucking in breath.

He turns his head softly, muscles tensed from the pain. The disinfectant stings, and has a nauseating odour. But it works, and that's what matters. " _How is the other crew?_ " He asks through gritted teeth.

" _One of the young one._ " The doctor begins. "Roddrick," He explains. " _He hit his head during the attack, has a cut from his ear to his temple._ "

Hiccup sighs. " _Headwounds are nasty stuff._ "

" _Indeed captain._ " The doctor says as he starts to dress the wound on Hiccup's back. " _Pass this in front of you please, underneath your armpit._ " He cuts in as he passes the roll of bandage over his shoulder. Hiccup calmly complies. " _Being a headwound it bled quite badly._ "

" _Did he panic?_ " Hiccup asks as he passes the bandage around again, making sure it is comfortable under his armpit.

" _He was stunned from the blow._ " The doctor explains. " _And has at least a mild concussion._ " He adds. " _Otherwise he might have truly panicked._ "

Hiccup flexes his shoulder as the doctor hands the bandage over his other one. " _Feels better already_." The young captain says. The adrenaline and rush of the attack is finally going away, and he is truly starting to feel the stinging of the cuts and burns.

" _I'll have to replace the bandages tomorrow._ " The doctor says as he ties them off on his back. " _Try to sleep on your stomach if you can captain._ " The older man explains. " _If you can, put a pillow or some clothes just above your hips, it's better for your back._ "

" _I'll try._ " Hiccup says as the doctor packs his kit again, wiping the tweezers clean and closing the wooden box.

" _I'll see how Roddrick is doing._ " The doctor says with a smile, staring at the captain.

" _Good, do that._ " Hiccup says as he flexes his shoulders and back. The muscles are tense and stiff, and he feels the wounds ache. He makes a mental note that when they return to port he should seek out a French massage parlour, probably after the wounds are healed thcough.

He sits still, looking at his vest that lays on the table. He pushes further thoughts of woman hands on his bare back away, shakes his head and quickly stands up. He calmly put his vest on, the coarse wool itching and sticking to his sweaty skin. He rubs his eyes. How late is it?

He checks his watch, and discovers that it's almost nine o'clock. He's been awake for a mere two hours, but feels broken and tired. He walks over to his own cabin, and from one of the dressers he pulls his own tin of Scho-ka-kola. There are only two more pieces in the tin, he calmly picks on out of the tin and bites down on the sweets. He sighs as he enjoys the bittersweet taste of the candy, and can quickly feel the chocolate grow pasty and sticky between his teeth. He breathes out through his nose, feeling the taste tingle as he smells the dark chocolate before it exits his nostrils.

Before he realises it, he has swallowed the chocolate, leaving himself with licking the remnants from between his teeth. He looks at the last piece longingly, feeling like a young boy in a candy store. He knows he shouldn't eat the last piece, he has self-control, especially when it comes to his rations. He quickly closes the tin, stuffing it away in the drawer to keep any form of temptation as far away as he can. He quickly steps out of his room, fixes his cap, and moves towards the galley.

As he walks towards the galley he passes through the central command room. Eret is standing there calmly, along with a skeleton crew operating the vitals of the ship. He looks at the captain with a curious gaze. " _How are you?_ "

" _Good, I'm good._ " He explains softly as he steps towards Eret. " _How's the situation?_ "

" _She's loitering above us._ " Eret explains calmly. " _Stopped attacking._ "

" _That's good._ " Hiccup says as he suppresses a yawn. " _Damages, injuries?_ " He asks.

Eret scratches his chin, and the small beard that has started to grow after their time at sea. "Two wounded," He explains calmly. "Nothing serious."

" _Headwound and?_ " The young captain asks.

" _Cut on the arm._ " Eret explained. " _Had it patched up before the doctor arrived showed._ "

" _And how's the boat?_ " Hiccup asks.

Eret's eyes grow stern. " _She's holding, but the rudders are damaged._ " He explains. " _Locked hard to port._ "

" _Damn it._ " Hiccup muttered. " _Both rudders?_ "

" _Starboard rudder is operational._ " Eret admits. " _But even if we set it full to starboard we'll barely be able to sail into a current._ " He explains as he whispers and leans in, not wanting the entire crew to hear. " _And if we sail like that, it'll make a hell of a racket._ ".

" _What has the chief engineer to say about this?_ " Hiccup asks calmly.

" _Twelve hours, at least._ " Eret says with a stern look. " _That's to get it loose, they are not sure if they'll get it working._ " He adds. "But they can't do it at this depth."

" _Rise us to the depth they need._ " Hiccup explains. " _No engines, no noise._ " He adds sternly. " _I want to surface tonight under the cover of darkness, then we'll make a run for the coast._ "

" _I'll make sure they'll have it done by then._ " Eret says with a nod.

" _I also want two guards with the crew we rescued._ " Hiccup explains. " _No firearm, but give them a knife both._ " He explains. The last thing he wanted was a panicked sailor or inexperienced survivor firing a gun in the submarine. Especially in the forward torpedo compartment.

" _I'll have someone bring them some water as well._ " Eret says.

" _Good._ " Hiccup mutters. " _Where is Fishlegs?"_

" _In his bed._ " Eret answers calmly. " _Might still be awake._ "

" _Thanks._ " Hiccup says as he turns away, heading towards the officer bunks. He finds Fishlegs resting in his bunk, reading from a book. " _Ingerman,_ " He calmly begins. Fishlegs immediately looks up from his book.

" _Captain._ " He responds softly as he places the book to his side and moves to step out of his bunk.

" _Don't worry,_ " Hiccup calmly says. " _You can stay in your bunk._ " He explains as he sits down on the bunk on the opposite side. Fishlegs sits a bit more upright, but makes no motion to leave his bunk.

" _Did you manage to receive the weather report?_ " Hiccup asks calmly. He hadn't kept a clear track of time the last day, so he was not certain if they had been submerged or surfaces when the report was sent.

" _Yes, sir._ " Fishlegs explained. " _The storm is expected to be longer, but less severe than previously thought._ "

" _Possible to surface?_ " Hiccup asks. " _And possible to make repairs?_ "

" _I doubt repairs on deck sir._ " Fishlegs adds. " _She'll hold, but it won't be pleasant or safe for those involved._ " He looks up, at the bottom of the bunk above him. " _We'll be able to surface and run on diesel though._ "

" _Good._ " Hiccup mutters, he stands up from the bunk and turns towards the bow of the vessel. " _Rest well._ " He adds before he heads off.

" _Will do captain._ " Fishlegs says as he picks up his book again.

* * *

Gobber and his crew waited calmly in the compartment, they were silent. The only sound was in the room was their soft breathing, with Gustav's breathing slower as he sleeps. The boy still shivers but he is being cuddled by the twins from both sides by the twins. Astrid waits calmly as another creak echoes through the submarine. She can hear the water flowing outside, passing along the hull of the vessel as it moves through the water.

She looks around them in the darkness, her eyes have slowly gotten used to the darkness in the room, and she can see around them pretty well. Occasionally murmurs something in his sleep. Her eyes scan around the room, before she locks eyes with Gobber.

"This is the torpedo room." He softly explains as he leans back against a metal wall. "They're probably out, since they place us here."

"What do we do?" She asks Gobber, glancing towards the airlock to make sure they are still alone.

"What do you mean?" Gobber asks quietly. "We wait." He explains. "We are safe, heading to shore I assume."

"But, these are Germans." Astrid argues, "We're at war with them."

"Indeed, we are." Gobber says. "But do you think we could do anything, even if we got the chance?"

Astrid looked at him, she realises she hasn't really thought about it. It just feels wrong, she had wanted to help in the war effort, especially after the loss of her uncle. But now the war was so close, the enemy was so close, and she was powerless to do anything. She doesn't like it.

She hears footsteps in the distance, light steps on heavy steel. She looks to the airlock and sees the German captain walking their way. He has changed shirt, now wearing a filthy old sweater.

He steps through the airlock without words, he looks at the survivors with a smile, but he sees the corners of his mouth drop slightly when he makes eye contact with her.

"How are you?" His voice is surprisingly soft and calm, but carried respect and concern. Astrid found herself once again surprised by the young commander. "Water is on its way."

He walks closer, and towards the wall, he calmly unhooks a panel, and calmly folds out a bunk supported by two steel chains from the wall. He does this four more times, until the walls of the room are lined with two bunks on each side.

"Here.' He says as he stands in the middle of the room. "They are a lot more comfortable."

"Thank you." Gobber mutters as they stand up and move for the bunks. Once they are all seated Hiccup finds a spot for himself. The twins occupy one bunk, along with Gustav Bucket and Mulch have claimed a bunk. Gobber and Astrid shared the third bunk, and the one in from of them was left unoccupied, Hiccup decided to sit there.

He sat down in front of Gobber, and smiled at the older man. "As you can imagine, my superiors will not be happy with this." Hiccup explains with a grin on his face. "So I can't make port in France with you." He continues. "We can't get anywhere close to England." He says with a light chuckle, which honestly the crew less than his next question. "So, what am I going to do with you?" He says as he rubs his hands together.

The room falls silent, and the captain looks calmly around. "How good is your Spanish?" He asks he looks around the group. They stay silent. "None of you speak Spanish?" He asks again to confirm.

"We'll manage." Gobber says calmly.

"I'm certain you will." Hiccup says. "From there you are free to go, the occasional ship travels to England." He adds. "And make sure you travel on a Spanish ship." He says calmly. "They'll arrive safely in England." He explains as he waves his hand in the air.

"Thank you." Gobber repeats. "Thanks for everything."

"It is not a problem." The captain says calmly as he shrugs. "The war takes enough lives." He explains in his accent. "It is nice to be able to safe some for a chance." He mutters as he looks at the ground, his smile fallen.

Before anyone can say something, he looks up again. "But enough sadness." He says. "We're safe, warm, and heading home." He says with a smile. "All of us." He adds as he gestures to the group.

"So," He continues. "What will you do when you get home?" He asks calmly, trying to make conversation instead of just talking to them. He looks at the group expectantly.

Mulch is the first to say something. "Get a drink, I suppose." He says calmly, not looking at the captain.

"Ja," Hiccup responds softly. "A beer." He says as he looks at Mulch. "Or wine." He adds. "Naturlich, naturlich." He mutters. "I always love to after we make port."

Gobber smiled, the young man was unnervingly social to them, but he understands what he is trying. "I'll stay away from sea for a while." Gobber admits. "I'll spent the rest of this war on land."

The German captain nods sympathetically. "Yes, I can understand that." No wouldn't go back after something like, well, this." He looked at Gobber. "Do you have someone waiting for you in England?"

"Afraid not." GObber muttered softly. He'd always been at sea, never had the time nor need to find a wife. "Maybe now's the chance." He says with a smile.

"Who knowns." Hiccup replies calmly. "I have my father." Hiccup explained. "He would like you." He adds as he points to Gobber and smiles.

"And you?" He asks to the rest of the group. "Do you have somebody in England?" He looks around, most simply shake their head, but once he reaches astrid he noticed something in her eyes. He stares into them, and Astrid averts her gaze.

"Had?" He asks softly. And Astrid immediately meets his gaze. He insets here carefully. "Family?"

"Uncle." She admits uncomfortably. "He was a captian, excellent helmsman as well." She sighes. "His ship was sunk."

"Oh." Hiccup replied softly. "Es tut mir leit." He says softly. Astrid does not reply.

He looks to meet her eyes again. He would have understood if they looked sad, but instead they looked filled with rage. She didn't show it on her body, she was calm, reserved. But her eyes told a different story.

"Are you looking for him?" He asks. "For information about him?"

Astrid sighed, she didn't like how well the young man saw through her, but she guessed that could be one of the reasons he was a captain. His people skills. "Yes." She admits. "During his last trip their convoy was attacked, only one ship escaped."

"I see." Hiccup says. "Now you're looking for that ship."

"We found it." Astrid says as she looks at Hiccup with a fire in her eyes. "He sailed in a convoy with La Chaloupe, the two ships had left together, but only one arrived."

"La Chaloupe." The young German repeats heavily accented. "The name sounds French, is that right?"

"Used to be." Gobber joined the conversation. "She's fled to Brittain, now flies the queen's colours."

"I see." Hiccup says calmly, and Astrid meets his gaze. "That was that armed merchant, wasn't it?" He asks, Astrid and Gobber nod. "I thought so," Hiccup continues. "We've actually crossed paths before."

"You did?" Astrid asks as she continues to look at the captain. It was her turn to search for clues in her conversation partner. "How did that go?"

"We learned from it." Hiccup calmly and sternly set up his lie. "We learned that she's a terrible shot." He explains. "I'm not sure if you caught how far her fire was off." He adds. "That's why we were confident with remaining surfaced for so long the night of the attack." He lies.

Before Astrid or Gobber can say anything two more people join the room. Two German sailors' step into the compartment, one of them carrying a jerrycan of water and the other holding two cups. "Ah," Hiccup says as he stands up. "There you'd have your company."

" _Herr Kapitän._ " One of the men says as he salutes.

" _Kalm, Männer._ " Hiccup says softly. " _Bist du bereit?_ "

"Jawohl mein Herr." The sailor responds.

"Gut." Hiccup says calmly. "Schön." He adds as he turns around. "These two men here will keep an eye on you." He explains in English. "It's not that I don't trust you, it's just" He continues, snapping his finger as he is searching for the word. "Insurance? No, security." He says as he smiles gently. "If you need me, ask for me." He says before he turns away and steps out of the room.

Astrid and Gobber finally share a look. "Something didn't add up there." Astrid says softly as she leans back. Gobber was clearly thinking.

"It doesn't add up indeed." Gobber confirms. "Even a rookie commander wouldn't make the mistake to classify a ship as 'incompetent', far too risky." He explains softly. "Besides, if he knew that la Chaloupe was armed, he'd prioritise that over everything."

"What happened that night?" Astrid muttered softly. "La Chaloupe's fire wasn't nearly as accurate as earlier today."

"Besides firing on a ship flying the colours of the red cross." Gobber adds.

"Something's fishy here." Astrid says. "And I intend to find out."

* * *

 _"You can easily fool 1000 followers into thinking you're a well-mannerd, loyal sheep, but I will always be that one person who knows you're a thieving deceitful wolf."_

 _\- Jennings220_

* * *

 **AN:**

 **So, this one took a while. Been really out of writing and once I started again it went, well, troublesome. That and I have a brand-new idea for a tiny ww2 fanfic which I now really want to write, but I'm forcing myself to finish this first. If someone wants to discuss ideas about it though, feel free to hit me up (It's about the Berlin Airlift). Anyway. I'm not giving up on this fic, I just felt kind of out of touch with the fandom lately and need to get back in there. That and the fact that I don't really have a second man to pass ideas around with anymore, so if anyone's in the market for that. Do tell :P I have the entire story planned out, aside from the ending, for which i have multiple, and I'm not yet sure what I want to use, so we'll see.**

 **I was also thinking of rewriting my old story, at least one of them. I was thinking of a piece of the night sky, since i started that back in 2014, and it's immencely close to my heart, so who knows, if somebody is interested in that. Do tell.**

 **Anyway, take care!**

 **\- R4y**


	7. Definition of Liberty

_The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty. Plainly, the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of liberty._

 _\- Abraham Lincoln_

* * *

 **Dance Among Wolves**

 **Chapter seven, Definition of Liberty**

* * *

The young German captain is back a couple hours later. He wears the same dirty sweater, stained and filthy, and he looks slightly more rested, but he still has bags under his eyes. He steps through the bulkhead, calmly chatting with the two guards that are posted with them. After a small chat the two are dismissed and head back into the rest of the submarine.

The crew is spread across the various bunks again. The twins share one, and are vast asleep. Bucket and Mulch have taken up the task to huddle with the young Gustav, who is no longer shivering. Astrid and Gobber sit opposite of each other, and had been in the middle of their discussion about the curious circumstanced of the attack on them, and the strange story of the German.

" _Essen."_ The German captain said softly, yet clear enough to have his voice carry through the room. He carried a couple of simple tin cups, the top one filled with spoons. "We have soup, the cook will bring some over shortly." He explains as he sets the cups with spoons down. "I thought I'd join you for lunch."

"You're most welcome." Gobber says as he looks at the captain.

The German smiles kindly and sits down next to Astrid so he can easily look at Gobber. Astrid subtly shifts away, but the captain pays her no mind. "When we surface we should have a smoke again." The German captain says calmly as he leans forward. He looks towards the bulkhead, seeing none of his crew. "All these lots can be a bit, boring." He says with a soft chuckle.

Gobber smiles at the man, but his mind is filled with that night. He looked at Astrid for a second, noticing her hopeful look. "Can I ask you a question?" Gobber asks calmly. "Captain to captain?"

The young German looks intrigued, but as he opened his mouth the cook walked in with a medium sized pan. "Ah, lunch." The young boy says as he stands up from the bunk. The cook places the pan on the metal floor and Hiccup takes a deep breath through his nose. " _Ach, Tomaten und Basilukum._ " He says in flawless German, Astrid listens to it, it sounds so foreign, yet, strangely calm. There is a kindness in his voice, a sweetness. " _Fleischballen?_ " He says, an almost childlike hopefulness in his voice.

" _Kapitän, wofür sehen Sie mich?_ " The Cook says as he moves his hand to his chest, clearly feigning hurt. " _Aber natürlich._ "

The captain laughed, not chuckled, laughed. " _Schön._ " He says as he rubs his hands together. " _Ich servieren das, keine Sorgen._ "

" _Danke, Herr Kapitän._ " The cook says before he passes through the bulkhead again.

" _Schön._ " The captain repeats as he turns around again to face the group. "So, soup?" He asks calmly as he picks up the tin cups. "It has, eh, flesh-balls." He explains with a smile that should never accompany the words flesh-balls.

"Meatballs?" Astrid asks carefully.

"Ah, yes, meatballs." Hiccup corrects himself. " _Danke."_ He kneels next to the pan. "For that," He begins. "You'll get the first bit." He says as he looks at her with a smile. It was genuine, at least Astrid was convinced herself it was. He pours the soup into the cup and hands it to her. "Careful, it is hot." He adds as he gives her the soup. Their hands touch, it feels normal, calm, nothing special.

It unnerves her.

She just touched the hands of the enemy, an enemy of the world just touched her and he felt, normal, human. It was strange. She didn't like thinking of her enemy as human. It made things easier not to. It was easy to convince herself that every German commander was some sort of evil sociopath. It made it easier to cheer when news was heard that they sunk something, shot down planes, shot people.

Gods she was really starting to hate the war.

Was this how the German captain though of them? Surely it couldn't, he had shown such kindness, such devotion to saving them. He saw them as they were, human, helpless, at his mercy.

She still doubted it. She had the image on her mind when she first saw him, in his uniform, a man of war. A man that backed a government who invaded Poland, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Czechoslovakia, France and the low-countries. Who had subjected countless people to living in occupation.

Who had sunk countless of ships, merchant ships. Including her uncle's.

"Miss." The accented voice broke her thought. "Do you have it?" He asked as he looked at the cup he was still holding in his hand, not sure if he could let go yet.

"Oh, yes." She says as she grabs it tighter. The captain slowly let go of the cup, handing her a spoon with a smile. He turns to the rest of them. "Who's next?"

Astrid watches as the captain passes around more soup, serving himself last. The soup is delicious, it surprises her how well it was made. The food they ate on Grump wasn't bad, but it did not reach the quality of the soup she is currently enjoying. Maybe it was the circumstances.

She can't help herself during the meal, occasionally glancing to the German captain. He eats his soup with vigour, yet does it with an amount of elegancy. It is a mix between a farmer and a noble. He had the manners to be at a gala or ball, but ate at the speed of a peasant.

She turns her head, looking at Gobber. The old captain has a sympathetic smile on his face. The look they share tells Astrid enough, he had also been looking at the young captain.

The silence in the room was broken by the young German, who wiped his chin. "If I may ask." He starts politely. "What were you transporting?" He asks as he takes another spoon of soup, he calmly swallows it. "I noticed your ship laid quite deep in the water."

The crew looks at him with a shocked expression, and they can see the captain switching gazes between them. Astrid notices how his gaze changes, going from his curious look to one of realisation and slight horror.

"Oh, erm.' He stammered. "I'm sorry." He says as he looks at his soup. "That was an, eh, wrong question."

"Inappropriate." Astrid says mutters.

"Yes," He says as he looks at her. "An inappropriate question." He corrects himself. "I am sorry."

Astrid looks at him, her gaze perhaps a bit too harsh. His eyes avert her gaze, turning to the ground, the wall, his soup, anywhere that isn't her eyes. She studies his face, she can see him biting the inside of his lip, and every time he blinks it last just a bit longer then it would normally. His head is facing the ground, and his eyes meet hers occasionally. Glancing up at her with a guilty expression.

Guilt. Damnit. Another one of those things this young man has that seems so natural, so fitting, so, so human. She despises it, despises how he can be so humble about it, so calm.

Gobber's voice breaks her thought. "So, Sir Haddock." He begins, earning him the gaze of the young captain. "What took you out to sea?"

Hiccup looks at the older captain, his expression turning into a smile. "My father was a fisher before the great war." He explains calmly. "He joined the, imperial navy when the war broke out, stayed in it until the thirties." He takes another spoon of his soup. "It was only natural for me to turn to the sea as well." The young German explained. "I was studying English literature at the time." He explains with a chuckle.

"Drafted?" Gobber asks calmly.

"No, volunteer." The young man explains. "Everyone did." He adds calmly as he looks around the group, Astrid still keeping a stern gaze on the German captain. "My father's connections helped me make captain." He explains. "Competence kept me there."

"Good to know," Gobber says with a smile. "That we are in good hands."

The young captain looks at him with a curious expression, before continuing his story. "We started in the, erm, east sea?" He says as he snaps with his fingers, trying to come up with the right term. "Baltic, yes, the Baltic sea."

Again, Astrid watches him smile, she noticed it earlier. Almost every time he forgets a word, he'll get fidgety, usually snapping with his fingers. But when he gets it right, he'll smile, a warm genuine smile. Something that felt wasted on a person sitting in a hot submarine, miles away from the nearest coast. It unnerves her.

"The Atlantic is a different beast." The captain continues in his accented English. "Ships are more difficult to find." He adds as he drinks the last bit of soup from his cup, wiping his chin afterwards. "Especially sailing here during winter." He explains. "You must know the struggle." He says, motioning to Gobber, Bucket and Mulch.

It is strange, he is her age, she's certain. But somehow, he feels older, as if he's among the age of Mulch and Bucker, maybe even Gobber.

"But this," The German begins again as he points around him. "This must be your second war, right?" He asks as he looks at the three older men. They nod in unison.

The young captain looks around, all of them had finished their meals. " _Schön._ " He says calmly, smiling. "I hope you all enjoyed the meal." He says as he stands up from the bunk and starts to collect cups, putting them on top op the pan. "I'd tell you what's for dinner." He jokes. "But it's a surprise." He finishes with a chuckle.

She breaks at that, a joke, a simple fucking joke. She stands up right as he turned to her. The captain taking a small step back in the tight compartment to give her some space. "How?" She almost hisses. "How can you be so calm? So composed?" She asks with a hostile tone. "You sink ships! You kill people, leave them to die in freezing water."

She can see the young German is taken aback by her outburst, but she isn't sure if it's because of her words or her sudden stance. "Astrid." She hears Gobber says behind her, trying to calm her.

"No." She hisses to Gobber, turning back to the captain of the submarine. "How many people have you killed? Just the other day, how many did throw to the freezing waves?" She asks sternly. The captain stayed still, his face a mixture of emotions Astrid could not decipher. "Ten?" She begins. "Twenty? Thirty?"

"You need to stay silent." The young German says as he regains his composure, his face still an unreadable mixture of emotions.

Tears start to well in her eyes, anger overtaking her completely. "No! You need to listen." Astrid says, taking a step towards him. "You need to realise what you do! The people you kill, the families you destroy." She says, looking him in the eyes.

That's when he moved, his face changing, suddenly a stern, emotionless mask. He takes a step forward, towards her. It's like he hit a switch, he suddenly stands tall, confident. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't know!" Astrid says almost screams back. "You don't know what you do to those people, to their families!" She adds. "You destroy lives, everywhere!"

He took another step, standing right in front of her, barely any space between them. "You will be calm, you will be quiet." He says sternly.

"Or what?" Astrid asks defiantly. "You're gonna kill me? Strike me down, defenceless against it, like you do with all your targets?" She spits. "You're a murderer." She says. "You might not pull the trigger, might not fire the shot, but you make it happen!" She says.

"And you don't?" The young German snaps back in a different tone. Less stern and more natural, more raw. "What were you shipping? Dolls? Potatoes?" He asks rhetorically, his voice venomous. It startles her. "No, iron, coals, war materials." He answers his own question. "And what will that be used for?"

She stays silent, admittedly, she hadn't thought much about what they shipped. Britain needed iron, they shipped iron.

He notices how she stays silent, that she is taken aback, but he doesn't relent. "What will it be used for? Forks and spoons?" He asks again, his voice surprisingly low. "No, Engines, planes, bombs." He says, she can hear anger and hate dripping from his voice. "So if I'm a murderer, you are too."

She stands still, frozen in place. How dare he. How dare he compare himself to her. She wants to say something, to tell him why he's wrong, why it's different. But the words escape her.

So she does the next best thing.

He never sees it coming, it's sudden, it's quick. The rest of Gobber's crew gasp as the German captain recoils from her hit. Her hand hurts from the sudden impact, but it is more then compensated by the way the young captain recoiled after she hit him, the way his hand instantly went for his cheek afterwards.

It was a victory, be it short lived. She feels two large hands on her shoulder, pulling her back. Gobber pulled her deeper into the compartment, turning them around so he stands in front of her. She peers alongside him, watching the captain of the submarine slowly straighten himself, his hand leaving his cheek. His back is facing them, and Astrid feels a mixture of fear and excitement the moment he starts to turn around.

But it all fades when she sees his face. She had expected anger, the same anger she felt, or maybe fear, or surprise in his eyes.

She had expected anything.

Instead, the captain looks calm, although his breathing was faster. He is calm and composed again, although not as much as before. A red print is clear on his pale cheek, and Astrid accepted it as her victory. He shoots a glance at her, stern, authoritative. She swallows behind Gobber. Her victory feeling much less significant now.

He turns his gaze away, looking at Gobber. He clears his throat, the second before he speaks taking too long for Astrid's nerves. "You are lucky she is not of my crew." He says, his voice clear, albeit accented again. "I expect better of yours." He adds, his voice low and threatening.

She can feel Gobber's hand twitch behind his back, holding her. "My apologies sir." He says quickly, his tone humble. "It won't happen again, I promise."

"It better not." The German says as he turns, other sailors have by now rushed to the bulkhead. Hearing the commotion. The young captain turns away, says a quick order to sailors and heads off into the far end of the submarine.

* * *

He pulls the curtains of his hut closed behind him and sits down, sighing. His men had seen him stomp out of the room, what would they think. Should he have been sterner? If one of his own men had done that, he knew what he should have done, was this different?

He breathes deeply, calming himself, he stayed composed, perhaps not during the argument, but during after she hit him. That was a victory. It is easy to let emotion take hold, as he noticed before. A knock startles him out of his thoughts.

" _Captain?_ " He recognises the voice of Eret, and he rubs his eyes. Hiccup takes a deep breath and answers.

" _Come in._ " He says calmly. Eret slides the curtain open, looking down at the young officer sitting on the bed. He does his best to stifle a laugh in his throat. But Hiccup hears him. He looks up at him. " _How does it look?"_

" _Like your wife caught you with the neighbour._ " Eret answers as he leans against the frame of the opening. " _That blonde one did that to you?_ "

" _Y_ es." Hiccup admits. " _She's a fierce one._ "

" _What happened?_ " Eret asks calmly. " _Didn't do anything stupid did you? Tried your charms on her?_ "

Hiccup chuckles softly " _If only._ " He says. " _We got into a discussion, though me a murderer, not pulling the trigger, but causing the death, that sort of stuff._ "

" _And I assume you said she was correct and ended the discussion there._ " Eret says sarcastically.

Hiccup let out a chuckle. " _No, she said I didn't realise the damage I did to people, to families._ " Eret whistles softly as Hiccup explains that. " _So I rebutted her, said she was as much a murderer as me, sailing a bulk carrier._ "

" _You always have a way with girls._ " Eret says with even more sarcasm. " _You just know what makes them tick._ "

Hiccup stays silent, accidently betraying himself to Eret. " _What is it?_ " He asks, looking at the young Captain.

" _Hmm?_ " Hiccup responds as he looks up, feigning innocence. " _What?_ "

" _You don't hide things from me Haddock._ " Eret says calmly. " _You're thinking, you know something you don't want to know._ "

" _Remember April?_ " He asks.

Eret lets out a sigh. " _April, uneventful and challenging, or Weserübung?._ " He asks. Weserüburung was the codename for the intervention in Norway and Denmark, securing valuable ports for iron for the Germany.

" _Fourty._ " Hiccup answers. " _That April._ "

" _I remember._ " Eret says calmly as he watches the captain touch his reddened cheek. " _What about it?_ "

* * *

 **AN:**

 **HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA, I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU ALL YET!**

 **But yea, new chapter, woop woop.**

 **ANYWAAAAY**

 **Time for proper author's notes.**

 **So yea, it's been a while, and admittedly, I'm sorry. I'd like to say schools been tough, or life's been tough, or anything else is to blame. But it's basically just down to me being tough. See, I'm kind of shy about the fact that I write fanfiction in public, so I tend to not talk about it in my regular group of friends, as in, my study budies and stuff. Which makes it difficult to write when all I ever do is sit in the living room with my laptop all day. So yea, I didn't write, I just gamed.**

 **The chapter is a bit shorter, I wanted to put a big and important part of the story in here, but I figured it should take a bit more time before I let that happen. It'll happen next chapter probably, so look forward to that, like, next year or so? JK, hopefully later this holiday season.**

 **Because that's the thing, it's the season of giving, and you guys have given me a lot. Every review, be it criticism or be it encouragement, it's helped me grow, as a writer, but also as a person. You are all amazing, and there's always a lot of praise going out to writers and artist in fandoms, but the simple truth is that they wouldn't exist if people didn't read or viewed their works, they wouldn't exist if there weren't people like you!**

 **So yea, you are awesome!**

 **Anyway, It's pretty late, and I better head off to bed.**

 **You guys are awesome, you guys better stay awesome. And yes, I'm pretty excited about the 3rd film in the frenchise. It's bound to be good.**

 ***knocks on wood***

 **Anyway, take care!**

 **\- R4y**


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